Kansas City Royals: Return of Salvador Perez is crucial

The Kansas City Royals have been without All-Star catcher Salvador Perez for the last two weeks and the results on the field have not been good. Fortunately, Salvy should be returning to the Royals lineup soon.

Over two weeks ago, the Kansas City Royals announced that Salvador Perez would be landing on the disabled list with an intercoastal strain. Since he’s been out of the lineup and away from the dish, the Royals have gone 6-9 without Perez and it’s been noticeable for sure.

While Royals fans love Drew Butera, he’s not Salvy. That’s true both offensively and defensively and fans saw that firsthand in Salvy’s first game away from the team. Butera allowed a wild pitch to score two runs, which is something that Perez would not have let happen.

Perez was slashing .278/.308/.510 with 21 home runs in 367 at bats before landing on the disabled list. Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star wrote that the Kansas City Royals were hoping to have Perez back for Tuesday’s game against the Rockies.

"Perez could be activated Tuesday before a series opener against Colorado at Kauffman Stadium. Yet Royals manager Ned Yost cautioned on Sunday that the return could wait until Wednesday if Perez is in need of a “recovery day” after a workout during Monday’s day off.More from KC KingdomWin $650 GUARANTEED Plus $100 Off NFL Sunday Ticket With Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!How to Bet on the Chiefs vs. Cardinals in NFL Preseason Week 2The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. ImmediatelyThe 3 Most Intriguing Games on the Chiefs’ Schedule"

The Colorado Rockies series isn’t one to be taken lightly and it’ll be nice having Perez back with the team. While he could be returning for this series, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Royals slot Perez in as a designated hitter and not overwork him as the catcher just yet.

The Royals might be out of the American League Central running, but they’re still very much in Wild Card contention. Having Salvador Perez on board for these last few weeks of the season will hopefully push the boys in blue back on track and get them back into a comfortable position for the postseason.

So far this season, Drew Butera has slashed .269/.321/.377 with three home runs in 130 at bats. He’s been all right offensively in Perez’s absence, but it’s been the defensive miscues that have hurt the KC Royals lately.

The Kansas City Royals just aren’t the same team without Salvador Perez and we’ve all known that, but these two weeks have made it even more apparent. With the Royals being an incredibly streaky team, one would have to think that a winning streak would be in the works soon and Perez could be a huge help in making that happen.