Perez, Infante show why their health is valuable to Royals

The sight was both alarming and encouraging.

The alarm sounded because catcher Salvador Perez was departing the premises midway through the third inning of Monday’s 8-2 Royals victory over the Mariners. The encouragement came because Perez was running, with trainer Nick Kenney in tow, a sign that his body appeared to be in working order.

Perez suffered a bruised left palm after a foul tip hit him in the second inning. The baseball connected in the area beneath his pinkie finger. The initial X-rays were negative, a team spokesman said. But Perez went to undergo another battery of tests to ease the minds of team officials.

“It was really precautionary,” manager Ned Yost said. “It was just a bit of a bruise.”

Yost indicated his level of concern was “none.” Still, any injury involving Perez is a cause for at least a small bit of worry. He is likely the most irreplaceable player on this club, a 23-year-old with burgeoning offensive skills and a Gold Glove already on his resume.

For now, Yost insisted he would not fret. He felt heartened by his team’s effort on Monday, as they snapped a three-game losing streak. He also had the opportunity to watch second baseman Omar Infante in the field. Infante received 11 days off to rest his sore right shoulder.

He fielded a pair of grounders during his five innings of work. He flicked his throws, which resembled something between a lob and a rocket. He said he felt no pain, but is still searching for strength. “I need more power,” Infante said. “I don’t feel 100 percent.”

He expects to be there within a few days. Like Perez, his presence is vital for this club.

Earlier this week, Yost tried to provide context for the injury. In prior eras, he explained, players did not utilize offseason conditioning programs, so injuries like this were more common. He also insisted Infante’s offseason regimen is not an issue.

“He’s in tip-top shape,” Yost said. “But just the back of his shoulder got sore from throwing too much, probably. It’s not a major issue.”

Infante has a checkered history with injuries. An ankle sprain cost him a month in 2013. He has fractured the fifth metacarpal in his left hand on three separate occasions. He is 32 and has played in more than 140 games in only three seasons since his debut in 2002.

Earlier in the spring, general manager Dayton Moore admitted it was “not ideal” to break camp without a backup middle infielder on the roster. But it is an outcome the organization is leaning toward. They have been training third baseman Danny Valencia at second, with fellow third baseman Mike Moustakas as another option.

“In a perfect world, yeah, absolutely, you want a Gold Glove backup guy,” Yost said. “Sometimes, it’s not a perfect world. You’ve got to look at your roster, you’ve got to look at a bunch of different things. And then you make it work, whatever it is.”

If Perez goes down, the Royals’ options are far less appealing. Brett Hayes and Ramon Hernandez are competing for the backup catcher role. Hernandez has been dogged by a sore right knee.

After Perez absorbed the foul tip, he insisted he could stay in the game. The team had no interest in appeasing him.

“I actually told him myself,” said starter James Shields, who gave up two runs in 4 2/3 innings. “I was like ‘Just get out of here. There’s no sense in you coming back in the game.’”

He added, “It’s spring training. There’s no reason to push anything. He just had a little foul tip. But I think it should be fine.”

Yost agreed. As he pondered Perez’s request to remain, he thought about how this minor tweak might be exacerbated. He had zero interest in that scenario.

“It’s like ‘Go get ice on it,’” Yost said. “We don’t need to be pushing anything right now.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2014 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Perez, Infante show why their health is valuable to Royals."