Royals let Perez rest tightness in right leg

NEW YORK -- Catcher Salvador Perez was not in the Royals' starting lineup against the Yankees on Wednesday for the second time in a four-game span as he continues to deal with tightness in his lower right leg.

Perez, who also sat out Sunday's series finale against the Athletics, said over the weekend that he has taken numerous foul balls off his right leg over the past week and a half. As a result, the recently named All-Star said he has experienced lingering soreness in the area during that stretch.

"He's got a bone bruise and he's got a muscle bruise in his calf, which results in tightness in the calf," manager Ned Yost said. "So what we're trying to do is monitor his play right now so that we can get that tightness out of there, because if that tightness continues to get tighter, it will result in a strain, which will make him unavailable for a week to two weeks."

With the Royals proceeding cautiously with Perez, George Kottaras once again received the start behind the plate on Wednesday. Filling in for Perez on Sunday, Kottaras went 1-for-2 with a home run and two walks. Entering Wednesday's start, Kottaras had homered in each of his last three appearances, which date back to June 23.

As for Perez, Yost said he plans to keep the same approach going forward until his starting catcher has completely worked any lingering tightness out of his troublesome right calf.

"We're keeping a real eye on him," Yost said. "We're trying to give him a break every couple of days when that thing starts getting a little bit tighter to loosen it up. Over the course of time, it's going to continue to get looser and looser and looser."