Three Royals to play for MLB on Japan tour
Perez, Escobar and Guthrie confirmed to be part of traveling party
KANSAS CITY -- Royals catcher Salvador Perez, shortstop Alcides Escobar and pitcher Jeremy Guthrie will join the Major Leaguers who will play in a five-game All-Star Series in Japan, the club confirmed on Tuesday.
The U.S. club will play Japan's national team, Samurai Japan.
Royals vice president of communications Mike Swanson said backup catcher Erik Kratz also is being considered for the roster. The team will begin practice on Thursday in Phoenix and leave for Japan on Saturday.
"That's exciting for me. It's going to be a great experience. You've waited for the moment and you try to enjoy that trip 100 percent," Perez said.
The complete roster has not been announced, but other Major Leaguers scheduled to go include Robinson Cano, Adam Jones, Albert Pujols, Yasiel Puig, Justin Morneau, Jose Altuve and Bryce Harper.
This marks the 11th such All-Star Series, though it's the first since 2006. It will be the 36th time, dating back to 1908, that a team of big leaguers has traveled to Japan for exhibition games.