Salvador Perez Signs Perfect Extension with Royals

Whether or not he was deserving of being a Silver Slugger finalist this season is a debate for a different day, but regardless, he’s still a real power threat behind young core names like Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino.

This deal not only pays him well for where he’s at in his career currently, it also shows Perez that he’s still a respected piece of this franchise despite entering the twilight years of his career.

The Royals Get Flexibility in Their Contending Window

Then there’s Royals side of the contract, which looks just a beneficial as the player side of it.

Obviously, having that extra bit of cash due to the initial $1 million dollar cut in AAV in 2026, as well as the money allocated to 2030 in both the signing bonus and deferrals, goes a long way for a smaller market contender looking to be a bit more bullish on the free agent and trade markets.

This gives them wiggle room to throw more at current areas of need, such as corner outfield, second base or in the bullpen, but could also be used to help fund other key extensions.

Both Pasquantino and Garcia are coming off career years and are now in the arbitration stages of their controllable years. This puts them in the prime points of their careers to receive at least a shorter-term bridge extension to buy through some if not all of their arbitration years, like they did with Cole Ragans last year, and maybe even more after that.

Then, there’s the term. Two years ensures that their Captain and franchise lifeblood is not only made to feel respected, but gives the Royals multiple years of continuing to have another marketable fan favorite around to help continue to grow this franchise in their newfound age of competitiveness.

After all, this a former World Series Champion and World Series MVP who continues to write his name in the history books among the franchise’s best and brightest. The story sells itself at this point.

But what a two-year deal also does is give the Royals the flexibility to grow and evaluate in the short-term.

Perez’s days behind the plate are numbered. The Royals have a pair of top catching prospects In Jensen and Blake Mitchell that will soon be capable of taking over the everyday backstop role. In Jensen’s case that could be as early as this season after making his debut in September.

But for the time being, while those two prized prospects continue to develop, there’s ABs to be had not only behind the plate, but at DH and even at first base on the days that Pasquantino needs to get off his feet.

However, the older he gets and the more names like Pasquantino and Jensen come into their primes, the spots for Perez to will soon start to decrease. And if he’s just to be more of a full-time DH by the time the second year of his deal roles around or once it’s up after 2027, Kansas City has a chance to re-evaluate Perez’s value and plan their future accordingly.

At this point, it seems unlikely Perez doesn’t finish out this contract. However, after two years, Perez will be in his late 30s (37 to be exact), so this contract offers him a shorter term window to see where he’s at himself and evaluate whether or not he still has something left in the tank to give.

Bottom line, the team has a beloved Royal who still holds plenty of value in the later stages of his career, but now have more control over what can go on around him in the short-term.