After day off, Salvy back in Royals' lineup vs. Yankees

NEW YORK – Salvador Perez returned to Kansas City's lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, a day after taking exception for the stated reason why he didn’t play in Saturday’s game.

Manager Matt Quatraro said Saturday that the off-day was to try to give Perez a “little mental breather,” instead of having him serve as the designated hitter like he typically does for a day game after a night game.

Perez took exception to those words, posting “I don’t need a mental breather” on Saturday night after the Royals’ 13-4 loss to the Yankees.

Perez said he was getting messages from friends and family about whether he was OK, thinking that the words “mental breather” meant there might be something wrong. That’s where confusion stemmed.

But Sunday morning, all seemed to be resolved. Perez, Quatraro and general manager J.J. Picollo met before the game and explained their perspectives.

“I’m good, my family’s good, everybody’s good,” Perez said. “I got reached out [to by] a lot of people yesterday after the game, and they sent me what [Quatraro] said. I don’t have any problem with [Quatraro]. We talked today. I know people were surprised I didn’t play yesterday, but everybody has an off-day in the big leagues. You know, it’s kind of hard to play 162 games, especially behind the home plate.”

Perez continued: “Everything is fine. He didn’t mean to say that. People understood that in the wrong way. That’s the easy way. Social media, you guys know how it is. It’s kind of crazy sometimes. He didn’t mean to say that I need a mental breather. He knows me, you guys know me. I like to be in the lineup every day. And I like to play and have fun.”

Quatraro better explained Sunday what he meant by “mental breather.” A day off for a catcher means he doesn’t have to do most of the prep with the starter that day, along with the hitting prep for the opposing starter. Even though Perez never wants a day off, it is a break, physically and mentally.

“We’re in a good spot,” Quatraro said. “I think what stands out to me, the ‘mental breather,’ was, from my perspective, telling him the night before he wasn’t playing. So he can take some off his plate preparing for our starting pitcher and the game plan, the opposing starting pitcher. And just being a player every day, there’s a tremendous amount that goes into that for a guy like him. I think that’s where that became a little bit misconstrued.”

Perez posting on social media might have amplified the situation, but Quatraro didn’t make it a big deal.

“It wasn’t tough,” Quatraro said. “We just sat and talked about it. The conversations between Salvy and I are so easy, and we’ve built a good relationship with a lot of trust. I explained what my thinking was, that I just told to you guys, and he understood. So we’re past it.”

On top of all this, Perez also said he’s dealing with some right hip soreness, a lingering injury that he has managed for several years. That’s why Kansas City added catcher Elias Díaz to the 40-man roster and called him up to start Sunday’s game behind the plate. For now, the Royals will carry three catchers: Perez, Díaz and Carter Jensen, allowing Perez more days at DH while protecting themselves on the bench with a catcher if both Perez and Jensen are in the lineup.

In a corresponding move, the Royals optioned infielder Tyler Tolbert to Triple-A. They also optioned pitcher Mitch Spence and recalled pitcher Mason Black ahead of Sunday’s game.

Perez’s hip soreness wasn’t mentioned Saturday when discussing the off-day, but it has been discussed in previous years. The 35-year-old with 1,727 games under his belt plays through all sorts of aches and pains, and this is another one he must manage.

“My right hip is a little bit sore, so that’s why we called up Díaz,” Perez said. “Going to go day to day. That’s why I’ll maybe DH a little bit more the next couple of days. See how my hip feels. Don’t have any problems. Don’t need any mental breather. We’re all good, my family’s good, thank God, so just happy to be here and get the opportunity to play again.”

What remains clear is that Perez is as important to this lineup as ever before, so Kansas City wants his bat in the lineup all the time. The nine-time All-Star has gotten off to a slow start this year, with a .160/.210/.307 slash line, three home runs and just six RBIs in 20 games. But there’s no reason to think he won’t turn it around. The Royals need him to help them dig out of a 7-14 start to the season.

“It sucks when we [lose],” Perez said. “Not that we can hide it. Nobody likes to lose. We need to figure out how to get better and maybe even give extra something to win the game. We prepare. I feel like these guys play hard. We lost some crazy games. … It’s part of the game. But we’re ready. We compete, prepare ourselves, and we’re going to give everything we have on the field. We need to figure out how to win.”