Royals Announce Salvador Perez Decision After Roster News on Tuesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 7:06 PM ET

The Kansas City Royals are in the final month of the season fighting for back-to-back postseason appearances as they currently sit at 2.5 games behind the final AL wild card spot.

With the Royals right in the middle of a crucial stretch, the team will turn to clubhouse leader Salvador Perez to guide the young roster with so much on the line.

The 35-year-old veteran backstop has appeared in 14 seasons for the Royals and has a ton of postseason experience and success as he took home World Series MVP in 2015, the last time the Royals won it all.

Perez has had an incredible career collecting nine All-Star appearances, five Gold Gloves and five Silver Slugger Awards.

With rosters expanding in the month of September, the Royals decided to bring up top catching prospect and the organization's number two overall prospect, Carter Jensen. With Jensen elevated to the active roster, fans began to speculate his role due to Perez’s presence and usual everyday role.

Before Kansas City’s game against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, manager Matt Quatraro announced that despite the team now having multiple catchers on the roster, Perez will still remain the team’s primary backstop.

"Manager Matt Quatraro said Salvador Perez will still catch the majority of the time even with Luke Maile and Carter Jensen on the roster. Jensen will be available to pinch-hit, pinch-run, go in for defense, etc. #Royals wanted him, and Jac Caglianone, up here to help team win," wrote MLB.com's Anne Rogers.

Manager Matt Quatraro said Salvador Perez will still catch the majority of the time even with Luke Maile and Carter Jensen on the roster. Jensen will be available to pinch-hit, pinch-run, go in for defense, etc. #Royals wanted him, and Jac Caglianone, up here to help team win.
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) September 2, 2025

Perez has slowed down recently at the plate this year, and in the month of August over 26 games he has posted a .186 batting average, .239 on-base percentage, and .621 OPS, numbers well below his yearly averages.

With Jensen and Maile both being options, the Royals could elect to use the two behind the plate so that Perez can either make starts at designated hitter or first base but it appears Quatraro is content with having Perez continue to catch despite the offensive struggles.

Perez has also accumulated a ton of mileage over his career (1,682 regular-season games) and with Jensen being just 22 years old, he would provide a boost defensively.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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