Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez is not in the team's starting lineup for the series finale on Thursday against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. Freddy Fermin will do the catching for right-hander Michael Lorenzen and will hit eighth against Rays right-hander Shane Baz. Perez gets a much-needed day of rest for the first time in over a month. The 35-year-old nine-time All-Star probably isn't going to hit for much of an average at this point in his career, but he can still provide elsewhere for fantasy managers and has nine home runs and 41 RBI in 76 games so far in 2025. He's hitting .265 (22-for-83) with five long balls, four doubles and 15 RBI in 21 games in the month of June. Fermin has limited power (two homers in 132 at-bats) and will be a low-upside DFS sleeper at catcher at the bottom of KC's batting order on Thursday.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez continued his hot offensive June in Tuesday's 6-1 win over the Rangers. Perez went 3-for-4 with a double, a solo home run, a two-run HR, four RBI, and a strikeout. The 35-year-old skyed a first-inning Jack Leiter 99-MPH fastball over the right-field wall and launched a sixth-inning Leiter offering into the left-field seats for another HR. Perez has not had the season fantasy managers were hoping for. However, he has hit the ball hard all season and his stats are starting to catch up. He is now slashing .240/.279/.395 with eight HR and 38 RBI in 288 plate appearances on the season.

Kansas City Royals backstop Salvador Perez went 1-for-4 with a single and a strikeout in Thursday's 1-0 loss to the visiting New York Yankees. Starting pitchers Seth Lugo and Will Warren locked down both lineups in Thursday's series finale, with the first run of the matchup pushed across in the eighth inning and ten hits combined between both squads. Despite the average line, it's the fourth straight outing with a hit for the veteran. Perez had a rough April and May (.222, .202) but has started off June on the right foot, going 13-for-43 (.302) with two of his six home runs. An overall .233/.269/.366 triple slash isn't very desirable. However, things look much different under the hood, as he boasts considerably more appealing xBA (.279) and xSLG (.495) figures.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez clubbed his fourth home run of the year in the team's 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Monday. The 397-foot, two-run bomb to left field off Reds right-hander Nick Martinez was the lone hit for Perez, who finished 1-for-3. He has gotten off to a brutal start this year, but has shown signs of snapping out of his funk in the past few days. The 35-year-old is in the middle of a 6-for-16 stretch in which he has hit two homers and upped his OPS from .566 to .622. He'll attempt to build on his recent success Tuesday against a familiar face, Reds righty Brady Singer. Perez caught Singer during the hurler's stint with the Royals from 2020-24.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (illness) is feeling better on Saturday and is back in the starting lineup against the division-rival Minnesota Twins and right-hander Zebby Matthews at Target Field, serving as the designated hitter and batting cleanup for the Royals. Freddy Fermin is doing the catching again and is in the eight-hole. Perez was under the weather and didn't start in Friday's game, but he's back in there a day later and will look to get going after a slow start in 2025. The 35-year-old nine-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger winner is batting just .223/.258/.346 on the year with a .603 OPS, three home runs, 23 RBI and 10 runs scored in 188 at-bats. He's hit just .205 in 76 trips to the plate in May as well. Perez has only five career at-bats against Matthews and is searching for his first hit against him.

The Kansas City Royals scratched catcher/first baseman Salvador Perez (illness) from the starting lineup on Friday at Target Field against the division-rival Minnesota Twins in the series opener due to an illness, according to MLB.com's Anne Rogers. With Perez under the weather, Freddy Fermin will catch left-hander Noah Cameron and will hit seventh in the batting order against Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez. The 35-year-old Perez should be able to return to the lineup against the Twins by the end of the weekend series on Sunday. The nine-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger winner has shown signs of his age so far in 2025 with a weak slash line of .223/.258/.346 while adding only three home runs, 23 RBI and 10 runs scored in his 188 at-bats. Fermin hasn't been any better, going 21-for-89 (.236) with just one long ball and six RBI on the season. He has never faced Lopez in his career.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez smashed his third home run of the season Wednesday in an 8-4 win over the San Francisco Giants. With that two-run, 397-foot blast, Perez added a single and a double to finish the day 3-for-5. Wednesday aside, it has been a surprisingly rough start to the season for the 35-year-old Perez, who hadn't homered since April 13 and has batted a paltry .223/.258/.346 through 199 trips to the plate. Considering his subpar performance thus far, Perez is facing a severely uphill climb as he goes for his ninth season of 20-plus HRs, though underlying metrics such as xBA (.292), xSLG (.521), and xwOBA (.359) remain bullish on him.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (hip) is back in action on Sunday when the Royals continue a series against the Baltimore Orioles. The veteran backstop has been held out of the lineup for the first two games of this series due to a minor hip injury. Perez will serve as the team's DH and bat this afternoon in the cleanup spot. Before his injury, Perez was beginning to heat up at the plate, holding a .400/.419/.633 slash line with seven doubles and six RBI over his last eight contests. Prior to this recent surge, the 34-year-old held an underwhelming .182/.234/.295 slash line with just four doubles and two home runs over his first 23 games of the regular season. Under the hood, Perez has generated an elite .412 xwOBA, which suggests he should continue to produce at the plate. He is a strong option in DFS this afternoon, facing Baltimore right-hander Kyle Gibson.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (hip) remains out of the starting lineup ahead of Saturday's game against the Baltimore Orioles. Perez will miss his second game in a row after exiting early during Thursday's contest due to left hip soreness. The hope is that this is a minor issue and Perez can get back in the lineup within the next few games. In his absence, Freddy Fermin will cover behind the plate and bat eighth versus right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano on Saturday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups ahead of first pitch.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (hip) is absent from the team's starting lineup for Friday's series opener on the road against the Baltimore Orioles. Freddy Fermin is doing the catching for right-hander Michael Wacha and will hit eighth, while Mark Canha will serve as the designated hitter and bat sixth against Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer. Perez, who should be considered day-to-day, will take the day off after being pulled early from Wednesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays with left-hip soreness. Check back to see if the 34-year-old veteran is back in action on Saturday. The nine-time All-Star has gotten off to a disappointing start in 2025, going 28-for-118 (.237) with only two homers, 16 RBI and eight runs. Neither Fermin nor Canha have faced Kremer in their careers. Canha has hit an impressive .345, but he has yet to leave the yard in his 29 at-bats for KC.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (hip) was forced to leave Thursday's game early against the Tampa Bay Rays due to left-hip soreness, according to the team. Before leaving, Perez went 1-for-3 at the plate with a double and an RBI. He was replaced at designated hitter by Cavan Biggio. Perez will most certainly go for more testing, but fantasy managers shouldn't expect him to be active for Friday's series opener in Baltimore against the Orioles. If the Venezuelan backstop's injury causes him to go on the injured list and miss extended time, Freddy Fermin would see more starts behind the dish for the Royals. Perez has been pretty quiet offensively in the first month of the 2025 season, as he entered Thursday's series finale in Tampa with a .235/.279/.374 slash line with only two home runs, 15 RBI and eight runs scored in 30 games.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez will take a seat for the first time this season for Friday's series opener against the visiting Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium. Freddy Fermin is doing the catching for right-hander Seth Lugo and will hit eighth against Astros right-hander Hayden Wesneski. It makes sense for the Royals to rest Perez for the first time all year after he played in both games of a doubleheader on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies. The 34-year-old veteran backstop did have a big day on Thursday, going 5-for-8 with four doubles, four RBI and three runs scored in the team's two victories, but overall he's gotten off to a slow start at the plate in 2025. Perez is currently slashing .220/.271/.360 with two homers and 14 RBI in 26 games. Hopefully his big day on Thursday will lead to more offensive production going forward.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez had a big day in his team's Thursday doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies. Perez combined to go 5-for-8 with four doubles, one walk, three runs, and four RBI as the Royals swept the doubleheader against Colorado. The veteran catcher is now hitting .220 with eight doubles, two homers, eight runs, and 14 RBI across 100 at-bats in 2025. He got off to a slow start this season but hopefully his big day on Thursday will get his bat going for fantasy gamers.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez hit his second home run of the year on Sunday, contributing to Kansas City's eventual 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians. Perez came to the plate in the fourth inning with Vinnie Pasquantino already on first and tagged a hanging breaker from pitcher Ben Lively for the Royals' first runs of the game. It wound up as Perez's only hit of the game. Perez went 3-for-11 with today's home run and three total RBI in the series against Cleveland. Perez was drafted as a top-five catcher, but so far he has turned in a .213 batting average and nine RBI. It is too early in the season for fantasy managers to turn their backs on one of MLB's most productive backstops. Up next for Perez is a three-game set against the Yankees, followed by four games against the Tigers.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (eye) has bruising below his eye but is "all good" and set to return to the starting nine on Friday. Perez exited Wednesday's contest early due to the laceration. However, the veteran backstop avoided a significant injury and will not miss any time. The 34-year-old was also able to practice on Thursday. Last season, Perez posted a .271/.330/.456 slash line with 27 long balls. He generated an elite .360 xwOBA and a .522 xSLG which placed him in the 92nd and 95th percentile respectively. He also generated an above-average 12.2 percent barrel rate and a 44.8 percent ard-hit rate. Fantasy managers should expect Perez to serve as the everyday catcher in the Kansas City and will see occasional starts at first base. He is a strong target when looking for RBI behind the dish as he will bat behind Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Jonathan India.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (eye) left Wednesday's Cactus League game early against the Seattle Mariners due to a laceration under his left eye, the team announced. Perez will continue to be monitored by the Royals. We should have an update on Perez's injury and potentially how much time he'll be forced to miss in camp by Thursday. The fact that it's just described as a laceration, though, leads us to believed that he'll be fine by Opening Day later this month. Although he's now 34 years old, he's still considered a top-five fantasy catcher at RotoBaller after he made his ninth All-Star team in 2024 and slashed .271/.330/.456 with 27 home runs, 104 RBI and 58 runs scored in 158 games in his 13th big-league season. Perez has managed 20-plus homers in each of his last eight full seasons. Regression is coming eventually, but the fact that he also has first base eligibility boosts his fantasy value.

Kansas City Royals Catcher Salvador Perez had a monster performance in Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader 9-4 win against the Cleveland Guardians. He went 2-for-4 with two homers, six RBI, and a walk. Perez is slashing .282/.341/.494 with 26 homers and 94 RBI across 129 games (478 at-bats) this season. His RBI total ranks sixth in the American League. The 34-year-old, playing in his 13th season with the Royals, is having a stellar year and will hopefully continue to lead this time down the stretch.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez smacked a double and a home run in a 2-for-4 day at the plate during a 7-4 win over the Phillies. The veteran backstop also collected three RBI in the contest. The 34-year-old doesn't show signs of slowing down, having put together another fine season for the Royals. He's even lowered his K% 3.2% over last season while increasing his BB% 3.3%, all helped by an increase in contact rate and a reduction in chase rate. The 9x All-Star has slashed .276/.334/.474 with 23 home runs and 88 RBI this season, putting him only behind William Contreras for most productive fantasy catcher.

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez launched a solo HR to go along with a double and a single in the Royals 9-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday. Perez's 20th home run of the season came off Tigers' ace and AL Cy Young candidate Tarik Skubal in the second inning. His RBI double in the seventh inning helped extend the Royals' lead to 7-2. With the Royals holding onto a one game lead in the wild card race, Perez's big day against a big-time starter was key for the Royals. His .815 OPS ranks second in the Royals' lineup as he continues to be one of the more valuable catchers at the plate. He'll look to continue raking on Saturday against Tigers' scheduled starter Michael Lorenzen.

Kansas City Royals catcher/first baseman/designated hitter Salvador Perez continued his power-resurgent season in Monday's 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks. Perez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and three RBI. The 34-year-old smashed a third-inning Yilber Diaz fastball to straightaway center field for his 18th long ball of the season. The veteran is having a fantasy season more similar to those earlier in his career, slashing .279/.341/.475 with 41 runs scored and 66 RBI in 396 plate appearances. He has managed to still get plenty of at-bats despite his age by cycling between first base and DH when not catching.