Royals GM Dayton Moore expects Perez and Mondesi to be ready for opening day
Two of the elite talents on the Kansas City Royals’ roster will head into spring training on the mend, working their way back from injuries that kept them off the field at the end of last season.
But less than a month out from the club’s first Cactus League game, there’s optimism that All-Star catcher Salvador Perez and budding star shortstop Adalberto Mondesi will be healthy enough to find themselves in the club’s starting lineup on opening day.
“Workouts are great, and offseason rehab all goes good and their bodies feel fresh, but getting in baseball shape is a completely different thing, as well,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said Friday. “We’re not going to panic either way, but you asked me the question. We expect both of those players — as we sit here today — to be ready for opening day.”
Perez, 29, missed all of the 2019 season after having Tommy John surgery during spring training last year. He played in just one spring training game in 2019, and he served as the team’s designated hitter.
Mondesi, 24, had labral repair surgery on his left shoulder Oct. 2. He missed the final week of the season after he was hurt diving for a ground ball in Minnesota on Sep. 22. He’d re-aggravated a shoulder injury originally sustained in July at Kauffman Stadium while diving for a fly ball in foul territory.
A six-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Silver Slugger, Perez has a career slash line of .266/.297/.442. In 2018, he led the team with 27 home runs and also threw out a MLB-best 47.1 percent of attempted base stealers.
“My elbow is great. I threw today to (second) base for the first time,” Perez said Friday.
Perez threw at the KC Royals Urban Youth Academy early Friday, the first day of Royals FanFest. He said head trainer Nick Kenney and Mondesi were both there.
Perez said he’s lost 22 pounds this offseason after “eating a lot” while rehabbing from his surgery, unable to play. Since his rehab process moved to his offseason home in Miami, Perez said he’s been focused on eating better and working out.
After throwing from behind the plate to second base for the first time since his surgery, Perez appears to have cleared every hurdle in his rehab. He started a light throwing program of just playing catch and also started doing blocking drills in full catcher’s equipment during the summer. He has taken batting practice, too.
March 6 marks the anniversary of his surgery, and Perez expects to have a meeting about his progress — involving the training staff and coaching staff — on that date this year.
When asked if he’d be ready for the season opener, Perez knocked on the table in front of him and responded, “Yes sir. If everything goes well, I’ll be back on the field on opening day in Chicago.”
Mondesi posted a slash line of .263/.291/.424 last season and set career highs for games played (102), hits (109), runs (58), doubles (20), triples (10), stolen bases (43) and RBIs (62).
Despite playing in only 102 games, he finished the season tied for the major-league lead in triples and second in stolen bases (43).
The Royals begin the regular season on the road against the Chicago White Sox March 26.
This story was originally published January 25, 2020 at 4:01 PM.
