Royals sign catcher Salvador Perez to record contract extension

Kansas City Royals fan favorite Salvador Perez isn’t going anywhere.

The Royals impressive offseason continued on Sunday, as they proved they’re willing to put their money where their mouth is. Kansas City signed Salvador Perez to a team-record four-year, $82 million deal, surpassing the previous mark held by outfielder Alex Gordon.

Perez has been a productive player for the Royals organization for years, dating back to their World Series team back in 2015. After missing 2019 due to injury, Perez put up productive numbers for KC in the shortened 2020 season, batting .333 in 37 games, logging 11 home runs, 32 RBIs and a .986 OPS, taking home a silver slugger award. Prior to his injury, Perez made six straight All-Star games, winning five Gold Gloves in the process.

Royals aren’t messing around this offseason

Perez is just one of a number of surprising moves from the Royals front office this offseason, including a recent trade for Andrew Benintendi. Kansas City is opting to speed up its competitive window, making moves to win now rather than waiting around for their top prospects to mature into major league talent. The incoming debut of Bobby Witt, Jr. marks an exciting time for Royals fans.

At 30 years of age, any extension for Perez comes with a lot of risk. By the time this deal reaches its conclusion, there’s no guarantee Perez is anything close to the player he is now for the Royals.

Yet, Perez is also a career Royal, making this move more about longevity than financial sense, or at least that’s the spin Kansas City’s front office will likely use moving forward. We’ll see if this sudden change in approach comes back to haunt them, or if KC sports fans have another team to pay attention to this fall other than the Chiefs.