Salvador Perez will start opener as Royals’ overall catching situation takes shape
We now know two of the Royals who will be among the starting 10 for opening day.
Following Thursday’s practice at Kauffman Stadium, Royals manager Mike Matheny said Salvador Perez will be the opening day starter — he will catch for starting pitcher Danny Duffy.
Perez, who missed all of last season after having Tommy John surgery, tested positive for COVID-19 on July 4 and was out of camp until Tuesday.
Matheny was asked Thursday if he could say Perez would start the opener at Cleveland next week.
“Without question, what we’re seeing from him is (he’s) everywhere we would hoped he would be and more as far as more timed up than I thought,” Matheny said. “He’s in a better place offensively right now than we had seen when we were in Arizona.
“And defensively, the guy knows what he’s doing. And it helps that he is worked relentlessly to put himself in a position where we can pretty boldly give you that answer.”
A week ago, the Royals’ catching situation seemed dire as Perez and Cam Gallagher were out because of positive COVID-19 tests, and Meibrys Viloria was on the injured list. Those are the only three catchers on the Royals’ 40-man roster.
But Perez’s return has improved the situation. Here’s a look at where things stand with some of the other catchers.
Gallagher
A year ago, Gallagher started 45 games for the Royals and seemed in line to fill a potential void depending on how long Perez would be out of action.
But Gallagher tested positive for the coronavirus last Saturday and is in quarantine. Matheny said he’s in contact with Gallagher, who misses the camp “so bad.” The Royals are providing whatever tools Gallagher may need to stay in shape while in quarantine.
Nick Dini
Matheny praised Dini following Thursday’s workout. Dini, who turns 27 next week, appeared in 20 games for the Royals a year ago.
“This guy’s had so many at-bats with what he’s doing live down in cages, just been hitting the ball hard the entire camp and took Jackson Kowar’s 96 (mph pitch) turned it around (Thursday), and then (Josh) Staumont’s 100 probably off the plate pulls it down the line,” Matheny said.
While the players didn’t run the bases Thursday, Matheny ruled the ball hit off Staumont a double.
“It was clearly foul, but it was clearly a 100 mile an hour sinking off the plate pitch,” Matheny joked. “And I don’t I think you deserve a double when you hit that ball at all and you don’t break your own shin. So I thought that was worthy of a double.”
Dini seems to be a logical choice to back up Perez if needed for the opener, although the Royals would have to open a spot on the 40-man roster for him.
Viloria
While still on the 10-day injured list for an unspecified reason, Viloria faced live pitching at Thursday’s practice.
“He’s actually moving around pretty well with what he needs to do behind the plate,” Matheny said. “I think he’s still just trying to get (used to) being on his feet as long as he has after being shut down for so long.”
Viloria, 23, appeared in 42 games for the Royals a year ago, batting .211 with a home run and 15 RBIs.
“His body weight’s down which says that he made a made an effort overall through the quarantine to make a change in how he’s looking physically and I think he feels good,” Matheny said. “It’s just gonna be a while getting back into the everyday rhythm of baseball.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Salvador Perez will start opener as Royals’ overall catching situation takes shape."
