The Kansas City Royals received devastating news this week after finding out that their All-Star catcher could be out for the season with an elbow injury.
Salvador Perez, who has been named an All Star in the past six consecutive seasons, hurt the elbow while doing drills in a team workout on Wednesday.
An MRI revealed that Perez suffered a tear of his UCL, meaning that the catcher could have to undergo Tommy John surgery.
Perez has also won 5 Gold Gloves as the top defensive catcher in baseball during his career. He is probably the best player on a Royals team that suffered mightily in 2018, finishing with a 58-104 record.
Perez was one of the lone bright spots on last year’s team, hitting 27 home runs and providing his typically excellent defense.
It now seems that Kansas City will have to find another catcher for 2019, as Perez’s injury makes it unlikely that he will suit up for the team this year.
To make things even worse for Kansas City, their two other catchers on the 40-man roster, Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria, have no experience as a starting catcher for an MLB team.
It remains to be seen if the Royals will decide to sign a free agent catcher or make a trade to fill the gap at the position before the season starts.
