Catcher Salvador Perez has opted to bypass changing into a free agent, as an alternative agreeing Tuesday to a two-year contract to stay with the Kansas Metropolis Royals, the staff introduced.
The contract is price $25 million, sources informed ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Perez, 35, has spent everything of his 15-year profession with the Royals, and he was named staff captain in 2023. A gradual presence behind the plate who performed in 155 video games final season, Perez stays a robust presence, hitting 30 residence runs in 2025 — his ninth consecutive full season with no less than 20 homers.
A nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner, Perez is the lone remaining hyperlink to the Royals’ World Sequence title in 2015. He received the World Sequence MVP award that yr, and he has continued his energy output ever since, rating thirteenth on the house run record amongst energetic gamers with 303.
Perez remaining in Kansas Metropolis comes as no shock. A beloved determine regionally for his efficiency and work in the neighborhood, he’s thought to be a possible Corridor of Famer and the second-best participant in franchise historical past behind George Brett.
Over his profession, Perez is hitting .264/.301/.457 with 1,016 RBIs, which ranks fifteenth all time amongst major catchers.
On the time Perez signed his four-year, $82 million contract extension in March 2021, it was the biggest in Royals historical past, since surpassed by the 11-year deal inked by franchise shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
The Royals completed 82-80 final season after a shock playoff run in 2024, their first postseason look because the World Sequence win.
Together with Perez and Witt, the Royals return Gold Glove third baseman Maikel Garcia, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and a pair of younger sluggers in Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen.
Kansas Metropolis’s rotation depth is its hallmark, with ace Cole Ragans and All-Star Kris Bubic alongside Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, standout rookie Noah Cameron and a pair of younger right-handers in Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek, who have been acquired on the deadline for catcher Freddy Fermin.