The Kansas City Royals lost their sixth straight game on Saturday after falling 4-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals. They're now in last place in the AL Central at 19-27, partially because they're tied for 22nd in baseball with 187 runs scored.
Several players in the Royals' lineup are struggling, but none more than catcher/designated hitter Salvador Perez. The nine-time All-Star is slashing just .195/.232/.328 with six homers and 18 RBIs over 44 games.
Perez is playing nowhere near as well as he usually does, as he has a career slash line of .263/.300/.454 since his MLB debut in 2011. The 6-foot-2, 255-pounder only has three extra-base hits in May and has only one three-hit game all season.
It's difficult for a club to succeed when its locker-room leader struggles. Perez is the longest-tenured Royal and the team captain, so it's no coincidence that the squad is in last while he's having his worst season.
If Perez doesn't pick it up, Kansas City must face a sobering reality.
Royals' Salvador Perez Era Could End Soon
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13). © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Perez and rookie Carter Jensen are alternating between catcher and designated hitter, but that setup only works if both players pull their weight. Jensen is slashing .237/.329/.412 with six homers and 19 RBIs over 42 games, so he's been more effective thus far.
If Jensen keeps improving while Perez stagnates or regresses further, Kansas City could put Jensen behind the dish full-time and outfielder Starling Marte at designated hitter. The latter player is slashing .302/.354/.372 with two RBIs across 18 games and has a career .285/.342/.439 slash line since debuting in 2012.
Benching the captain and a player who earned 2015 World Series MVP honors for the Royals would be no easy task, but the team will have no choice if Perez doesn't improve this season. Furthermore, that would complicate the veteran's future, as he only has one more year on his contract. Next offseason, Kansas City would have to either trade him, release him, or ask him to be a backup in 2027.
Perez has time to prevent that from happening, but the organization can't give him an infinitely long leash.
Up next for the Royals is a road rematch with the Cardinals on Sunday before returning home to host the Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees. After that, it'll end May on the road against the Texas Rangers.
Sunday's matchup will start at 2:15 p.m. ET.
