Salvador

Perez

Perez is in the middle of the worst season of his career at the plate, though he’s picked things up lately. The 36-year-old has a four-game hitting streak and back-to-back games with two hits. He’s hitting .226 with a .647 OPS and 66 RBI.

The stolen base was the seventh of Perez’s career, and his first since July of 2021. He’s having his worst season as a hitter at age 36, but consistent injuries to the Royals’ lineup have kept him hitting in the heart of the order. Despite that, he’s at 58 RBI with five weeks left in the season. Perez had driven in 100+ in each of the two seasons prior to 2026.

Perez’ home run was his 17th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Drew Anderson in the fourth inning. Perez’ home run was his first since August 1 against the Rockies, a span of 16 games. He’s hitting .220 with a .638 OPS and 57 RBI.

The 36-year-old singled in the third inning and scored on a two-run single off the bat of Isaac Collins. Perez then smacked a two-out RBI single in the fourth that extended the Royals’ lead to 5-0. He’s mired in a down season offensively, slashing a meager .219/.265/.368 with 16 homers and 56 RBI in 497 plate appearances.

Perez left Wednesday’s game and didn’t play Friday because of right elbow soreness.

The 36-year-old was pulled from Wednesday’s game due to “right elbow aggravation” and it’s still not feeling much improvement after Thursday’s off-day. As of now there are no plans of placing him on the injured list, but if this lingers through the weekend the Royals may be forced to reconsider.

Perez missed three games at the beginning of July with soreness in his throwing elbow. It’s probably a similar issue this time. Perez had an RBI single in one of his two at-bats before exiting.

Pasquantino is headed for some extra time off to rest and recover after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Twins with right hand soreness. The big cause for concern here is that the 28-year-old suffered a hamate fracture on that exact hand last month. He’ll presumably undergo imaging to rule out any structural issues. There should be some clarity on his status at some point in the coming days. It’ll probably wind up being Salvador Perez taking over at first base in his absence.

Pasquantino receives some extra time off to rest and recover following an early exit from Tuesday’s game with right hand soreness. The 28-year-old suffered a hamate fracture on that exact hand last month. It doesn’t sound like a trip to the injured list is on the table, but that could change in the next few days. It’ll be veteran Salvador Perez taking over at first base in his absence.

Perez moved past Royals icon George Brett for sole possession of first place as Kansas City’s all-time home run leader with a seventh-inning solo shot to left field against Tigers reliever Kyle Finnegan. It was the 318th round-tripper of his remarkable career. The 36-year-old ironman has gone deep four times in nine contests since the Midsummer Classic. His days as a mixed-league relevant fantasy backstop are probably finished at this advanced stage of his career, but he remains a decent power source at the position in deeper leagues.