Royals catcher Salvador Perez’s message to Lorenzo Cain: ‘I’m going to miss you, bro’

Royals catcher Salvador Perez wandered Bartle Hall during Fan Fest on Friday, asking teammates and friends if anyone had Lorenzo Cain’s number.

Perez wasn’t in possession of it. And he was desperate to send his buddy, who had officially signed a five-year, $80 million contract with the Brewers earlier in the afternoon, a message of congratulations.

So when Perez walked into an interview Friday, he joked about never wanting to see Cain again, then looked dead-on at a camera.

“Hermanito, I’m going to miss you, bro,” Perez said. “But seriously, I feel happy for you and for your family. That’s a great contract. I hope you do the best in Milwaukee, and hopefully we see you soon. I love you.”

Perez was able to deliver the message to Cain directly on the main stage at FanFest on Saturday afternoon. In front of fans, he pulled out his phone, dialed Cain’s number and turned up the volume.

“I’ve got my phone on speaker so everybody hears you,” he told Cain. “What do you want to say to the people in here?”

Cain, who’s fallen victim to many of Perez’s pranks, didn’t miss a beat.

“Once again, you’re recording me, huh?” he said.

Perez will miss ragging on Cain, who he said was the best person to bother in the clubhouse. Asked who would make a good replacement, he couldn’t name anyone.

“Nobody like Lorenzo,” Perez said. “Nobody’s going to get mad like him. If you don’t get mad, that doesn’t make sense.”

Cain will return to Kauffman Stadium early in the season, when the Royals host the Brewers from April 24-25. Royals fans can probably expect to see a couple of new videos of Cain and Perez pop up on social media then.

They might even expect them sooner. Perez might try to swing by Oklahoma City before spring training to film a few clips for old time’s sake.

“It’s a lot of years together, so it’s going to be a little hard when the season starts,” Perez said.

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 7:20 PM with the headline "Royals catcher Salvador Perez’s message to Lorenzo Cain: ‘I’m going to miss you, bro’."