Royals Announce Salvador Perez Update After Second Straight Absence From Lineup

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 6:53 PM ET

The Kansas City Royals are fighting to make back-to-back postseason trips, entering Tuesday sitting 3.5 games back of the third wild card spot and in the midst of a four-game winning streak.

Kansas City defeated the Texas Rangers on Monday, 4–3, without catcher Salvador Perez, who was inserted into the starting lineup but was scratched moments later with an illness.

In his fourteenth major-league season, Perez has shown no signs of slowing down as he’s transitioned to make starts as designated hitter and first base to get his bat in the lineup more consistently.

The 35-year-old veteran has posted a .244 batting average, .737 OPS, 22 home runs, and 70 RBIs across 119 games for Kansas City.

Salvador Perez Misses Second Straight Game

Ahead of Tuesday’s matchup with the Rangers, Perez was once again held out of the starting lineup, marking his second straight game not listed as a starter, with backup Luke Maile getting another start behind the plate.

Before the game, manager Matt Quatraro announced that Perez would be available off the bench to pinch-hit and that Triple-A catcher Luca Tresh would be sent back down to the minors, signaling Perez’s illness does not seem to be anything more than a day-to-day issue.

"Salvador Perez is out of the lineup again today with illness but on the mend and available, manager Matt Quatraro said. #Royals brought catcher Luca Tresh to KC last night in case he was needed, but sounds like he’ll rejoin Triple-A tomorrow," wrote MLB.com's Anne Rogers.

Salvador Perez is out of the lineup again today with illness but on the mend and available, manager Matt Quatraro said. #Royals brought catcher Luca Tresh to KC last night in case he was needed, but sounds like he’ll rejoin Triple-A tomorrow.
— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) August 19, 2025

Royals Relying on Veteran Presence of Perez in Postseason Push

Perez has still been a solid offensive presence for the Royals even as he enters the latter stages of his career. He was selected to back-to-back All-Star appearances in 2023–24 (marking his eighth and ninth career selections) and also added a fifth Silver Slugger Award last year.

Perez is also the only remaining member of the Royals team from 2015 that won the World Series, as he’s become a leader in the clubhouse for a team with plenty of young, talented players.

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

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