Salvador Perez makes his return behind the plate for the Royals
Kansas City Royals franchise cornerstone catcher Salvador Perez receiving pitches from Mike Montgomery simultaneously provided flashbacks and a feeling of completion.
After all, the last time the two were on the same team was in 2012 with Triple-A Omaha. The Royals traded Montgomery after the 2012 season.
Friday also marked Perez’s first time catching since Sept. 26, 2018, in Cincinnati. It signified a milestone in his rehab and return from Tommy John surgery, which robbed him of the 2019 season.
“I was excited, not nervous,” Perez said. “Emotional. I don’t remember the last time I played catcher. Super-excited today to be back behind home plate.”
Perez, a six-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner, caught the first four innings of Friday’s 3-1 loss to a San Francisco Giants split squad at Surprise Stadium. Perez went 0-for-2 with one strikeout and did not have a runner attempt to steal while he was behind the plate.
“Yeah, of course,” Perez said when asked if it felt different to be in a game. “It’s different than practice everyday and trying to get better with a machine. Now, it’s live. I have to know a couple of my guys.”
Perez caught Montgomery, Ian Kennedy, Trevor Rosenthal and Gabe Speier.
“It’s been a few years since I’ve thrown to him,” Montgomery said. “He’s a big target back there. It was like we never missed a beat. … I’m glad to have him back. I know everyone here is.
“We’re excited to have him at the plate and hitting too. I’m happy for him because I know how much he means to this organization. For him to be able to get back and get a chance to compete in the game he loves, it’s cool to see.”
Rosenthal, a Lee’s Summit native, hadn’t played with Perez before, though he compared him to another highly regarded catcher who has become synonymous with his franchise in St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.
“He reminds me a lot of Yady and just how they enjoy to play the game and compete out there,” said Rosenthal, who struck out two in a scoreless inning that featured multiple 99 mph fastballs. “You feed off that energy as a pitcher, for sure.”
Starting point
Montgomery, a left-hander, made his first appearance of the Cactus League season. He started and pitched one scoreless inning against the Giants, which included one strikeout and one single.
Montgomery, who the Royals reacquired in a July trade with the Chicago Cubs, is one of four pitchers who entered camp as members of the projected starting rotation along with Brad Keller, Jakob Junis and Danny Duffy.
“I thought I threw the ball well,” Montgomery said. “One inning. It’s a good place to start. It’s a long year, so just kind of keep building from there. First time facing another team. It was fun, fun to get out there.”
Kennedy, who saved 30 games last year in his first season in the bullpen, also made his first appearance of the spring.
Kennedy allowed three hits, including a two-run home run by Giants first baseman Darin Ruf, in one inning.
“First one is out of the way,” Kennedy said. “Just like the normal first outing, working on location. Fastball was up a little bit more than I wanted. It happened so quick, you try to adjust. I’m going to have (many) more outings to get a little better. Cutter was terrible, the two I threw at the end of the outing. You try to get pitches in that you normally wouldn’t try to work on.”
On to Peoria
The Royals will play the Seattle Mariners on Saturday in Peoria. Rule 5 Draft pick Stephen Woods Jr. will start, while Braden Shipley, Tim Hill, Scott Barlow, Heath Fillmyer, Carlos Hernandez and Greg Holland are also scheduled to pitch.
Fillmyer, who started three games for the Royals last year, hasn’t pitched in a Cactus League game this spring.
Left-hander Danny Duffy is scheduled to start Sunday’s game against the Oakland Athletics in Surprise.
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 4:56 PM.
