This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SEATTLE – Salvador Perez has established himself as the best catcher in Royals history and a stalwart behind the plate for over a decade.

But when injuries hit the Royals’ first-base depth this season, they called on their captain. Perez has always been an option at first but has played more games there this season (15) than any other year he’s been in the Majors.

“We talked to him a little bit about it in Spring Training,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “We didn’t think it would work out this way -- thought more when we faced tough lefties, when we still had Vinnie [Pasquantino] and [Nick] Pratto in the mix and all that. So we were hoping, in some ways, this would work out.

“But it’s fun to see him there because he embraces it so much, he works at it, he enjoys it. And he’s good at it.”

Perez does enjoy playing first base because it’s a different challenge. When he’s playing first for a game, he still attends the pitcher-catcher meetings with the starter and Freddy Fermin, then heads out to do infield work with infield coach Jose Alguacil. The work isn’t just taking ground balls; Perez is working on pickoffs and popups, double plays and different angles the ball will take off the bat.

“Salvy is a competitor,” Alguacil said Saturday. “It’s a Saturday afternoon game, he caught [Friday], but he’s out here busting his tail because he wants to be the best in everything he does. That has elevated the respect I have for him even more because he’s not just playing first to have a day off of catching. He wants to be out there and contribute to the team. He doesn’t just go through the motions when we are working out there.”

Alguacil has helped the young Royals infielders -- shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., second baseman Michael Massey and third baseman Maikel Garcia -- take strides this year, and Perez thinks that work is helping him, too.

“He knows a lot of good things that will help me,” Perez said. “I always try to listen to him and do what he wants me to do. I think it’s good. It’s a good opportunity to work with him. Hopefully we can do more in the offseason.

“I have always said if you have the opportunity to play two positions in the big leagues, it’s a blessing. And I have a lot of fun playing there. I get to talk to other people a lot more. Behind the plate, you just say hi and go back to concentrating. There’s a little bit more time at first base.”

As Perez gets older, having him as an option at first gives the Royals versatility, especially when Fermin can be counted on as a reliable catcher. His metrics hold up well behind the plate, and he also has a .785 OPS with a 112 wRC+ in 61 games.

“If we didn’t have that, that would be a whole different discussion that we would have to go through as to whether that’s worth the trade off,” Quatraro said.