Royals’ place Salvador Perez on the IL as he tries to clear up issues with his vision
The persistent vision problems that kept Royals catcher Salvador Perez out of Wednesday’s doubleheader and three of KC’s last four games have now landed him on the injured list.
The Royals placed Perez, the team’s hottest hitter and a five-time Gold Glove award winner, on the IL with fluid buildup in his left eye, or a central serous chorioretinopathy. The move is retroactive to Aug. 18. The Royals recalled left-handed relief pitcher Randy Rosario Friday afternoon before their series opener against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium.
The Royals optioned their lone left-handed reliever, Gabe Speier, to their alternate training site following Wednesday’s doubleheader.
Perez last played in Monday’s series finale in Minnesota, but he left the game after five innings and two at-bats because he had trouble seeing.
He has seen a pair of specialists who’ve assured him his vision issues will clear up in time.
This season, Perez has a slash line of .307/.326/.511 with four home runs, 12 RBIs and six doubles in 22 games.
“I see him in here every day like, ‘I want to play, but I can’t see,’” Royals manager Mike Matheny said Friday. “Yeah, those don’t go together. There’s a lot of things you can push through, but not lack of vision. … This guy, man he loves playing the game. We’re just trying to help him as much as anything else.”
Catchers Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria have shared the catching duties when Perez has not played. Gallagher has been the Royals’ primary backup catcher since last season. He has played in 86 major-league games and started 64.
“He’s obviously a very good receiver,” Matheny said of Gallagher. “He handles the game-calling very well. He has earned the respect of his staff over the years. You can tell the guys put great trust in him. Whenever you have a standout superstar-caliber catcher, it’s hard to have somebody else step in and have the respect of the staff. Cam has done a nice job of that.”
