Royals could lose one of their only offensive threats to injured list

Salvador Perez suffered a left hamstring strain while scoring a run in Sunday's 8-4 Kansas City Royals victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Perez scored from first base on a MJ Melendez double, but the extra effort was costly for the veteran catcher and a trip to the injured list now seems likely. The time lost will depend on the grade of Perez’s strain. Manager Matt Quartraro told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters that the club will have more information on Monday.

An injury to Perez just adds to a nightmare of a season for the Royals, as they are a measly 27-67 after today’s win. Perez is hitting .258/.299/.444 with 15 home runs over 345 plate appearances, translating to below-average (97 wRC+) overall offense for the 33-year-old backstop. It represents a drop-off from Perez’s usual production, yet he remains one of the best bats on a Royals team that has almost entirely underachieved. Melendez and Freddy Fermin seem likely to take over catching duties in the event of Perez hitting the IL. If you’re wondering if the injury might impact Perez’s trade value, Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo already stated last month that Perez isn’t going anywhere.

More from the two Central divisions…

• The Milwaukee Brewers were expecting Rowdy Tellez back from the 10-day IL this coming Tuesday, but the first baseman suffered another injury while shagging fly balls prior to Sunday’s game. As manager Craig Counsell told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak and other reporters, Tellez was trying to make a catch when he caught his left ring finger between the seams of the outfield wall padding. The result was a broken fingertip, a torn nail and an estimated 3-4 more weeks on the injured list. Tellez had been sidelined with forearm inflammation and he was looking to rebound from a nasty slump that had dropped his numbers to .213/.285/.388 over 288 PA. First base/DH was already expected to be a target area for the Brewers heading into the trade deadline and Tellez’s extended absence now only increases the club’s need for some extra corner power.
• Eloy Jimenez will be out of the Chicago White Sox lineup for at least “the next few days” due to a groin injury, manager Pedro Grifol told MLB.com and other media. Jimenez had to make an early exit from Sunday’s game due to the injury and testing will determine the severity of the issue and if Jimenez might be headed for the 10-day IL. The slugger already missed around three weeks earlier this season while recovering from an appendectomy and a variety of injuries have limited Jimenez’s playing time over his five Major League seasons. Over 259 PA for Chicago this season, Jimenez has 12 home runs and a .269/.313/.463 slash line.
• In better injury news for the White Sox, Joe Kelly threw a bullpen session today and plans to return from the 15-day IL during the Sox/Mets series that begins on Tuesday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. Kelly was placed on the IL due to elbow inflammation on July 5, so he’ll return after a minimal stint. Secondary metrics indicate that Kelly is drastically outperforming his uninspiring 4.82 ERA, so some better bottom-line numbers over the next couple of weeks might turn him into a trade chip for the White Sox at the deadline.
• The St. Louis Cardinals activated catcher Andrew Knizner off the 10-day IL Sunday and manager Oli Marmol told reporters (including Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that the club will continue to carry three catchers on the roster, as it wants to see more of youngster Ivan Herrera. It remains to be seen how the Cardinals will split the playing time between Willson Contreras, Knizner and Herrera, but Knizner was the only member of the trio to see action in Sunday’s 8-4 win over the Nationals. In other St. Louis injury news, Tyler O’Neill might return from the IL on Tuesday if he emerges in good form after a Triple-A rehab game on Sunday.