Kansas City had a $13.5 million option for next season. General manager JJ Picollo said in late September that the Royals would bring Perez back, though he left open the possibility of a new contract rather than simply exercising the option.
That is indeed how things went. Teams and players have until Thursday to decide all option decisions. That presumably served as an unofficial deadline for the Royals and Perez to reach a new deal. While the specific salary structure and deferrals have yet to be reported, it stands to reason that they will negotiate a lower ’26 salary than the option value while giving Perez the security of the second guaranteed year.
Perez, 36 in May, is entering his 15th full season in the major leagues. He is clearly one of the most talented players in team history and seems likely to be a Royal for life. He ranks seventh in franchise history in games played and trails alone George Brett in both home runs and runs batted in. Perez won’t reach the nearly 600 RBI he needs to beat Brett, but he should become the franchise’s home run leader next season barring a significant injury. He has 303 longballs, which puts him 14 behind the Hall of Famer’s career total.
A healthy Perez should still easily hit 15+ home runs in 2026. He drilled 30 round-trippers this year and has eclipsed 20 home runs in all but one schedule, dating back to 2014. The only exception was the ’19 season which he missed due to Tommy John surgery. Perez was alone behind Cal Raleigh, Shea Langeliers And Hunter Goodman in home runs among primary catchers this past season. Raleigh is the only other catcher to drive in at least 100 runs.
While Perez remains a legitimate threat to power, the flaws in his game are just as well known. He’s never been a patient hitter and he’s coming off his third OBP below .300 in the last four seasons. Perez hit .236/.284/.446 in 641 trips to the plate. The overall slash line is slightly worse than league average, despite the gaudy home run and RBI numbers. It’s still strong production from the catcher position, but Perez has started to expand to first base or designated hitter a little more often since he entered his mid-30s.
The five-time Gold Glove winner still has a plus arm and has done a great job closing down the running game. Pitch framing metrics have filtered his received work throughout his career. That remained the case in 2025. Statcast also rated him as the second-worst blocking catcher in the sport, only better than the Marlins rookie. Agustin Ramirez (who somehow committed 19 passed balls in 73 games).
There is very little chance that Wins Above Replacement models will look favorably on this deal. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference had Perez only marginally above replacement this year. The Royals have long valued the player much higher than public advanced stats would suggest. He has always been a respected clubhouse presence and fan favorite, winning the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award for his contributions to the community (both in Kansas City and his native Venezuela). He served as a bridge between their 2015 World Series team and the ’24 club that returned to the playoffs after a nine-year drought.
Last season they couldn’t make it until October. A lack of offense and some late-season rotation injuries saw them fall to an 82–80 record. Perez will return as the primary catcher and should split first base/DH duties Vinnie Pasquantino And Jac Caglianon. The Royals will want to work on rookies Carter Jensen more often in the mix behind the dish. The 22-year-old was called up in September after KC traded a longtime backup Freddy Fermin to the Padres at the deadline. Jensen hit .300 with three home runs in his first 20 games, an impressive follow-up to a .290/.377/.501 season at Triple-A Omaha.
The Royals have approximately $140 million in commitments for next season, according to the Royals Grid source. Perez joins Bobby Witt Jr. ($19MM), Seth Lugo ($20MM), Michael Wacha ($14MM) and Cole Ragans ($7.5 million) as their players with contracts through 2027. They are also tied to a buyout of at least $2 million on a club option for Carlos Estevez.
Anne Rogers of MLB.com first reported the $25 million guarantee, the $7 million bonus and the presence of deferrals. Image courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images.
#Royals #sign #Salvador #Perez #twoyear #extension