Both Pasquantino and Garcia are coming off career years and are now in the arbitration stages of their controllable years. This puts them in the prime points of their careers to receive at least a shorter-term bridge extension to buy through some if not all of their arbitration years, like they did with Cole Ragans last year, and maybe even more after that.
Then, there’s the term. Two years ensures that their Captain and franchise lifeblood is not only made to feel respected, but gives the Royals multiple years of continuing to have another marketable fan favorite around to help continue to grow this franchise in their newfound age of competitiveness.
After all, this a former World Series Champion and World Series MVP who continues to write his name in the history books among the franchise’s best and brightest. The story sells itself at this point.
But what a two-year deal also does is give the Royals the flexibility to grow and evaluate in the short-term.
Perez’s days behind the plate are numbered. The Royals have a pair of top catching prospects In Jensen and Blake Mitchell that will soon be capable of taking over the everyday backstop role. In Jensen’s case that could be as early as this season after making his debut in September.
But for the time being, while those two prized prospects continue to develop, there’s ABs to be had not only behind the plate, but at DH and even at first base on the days that Pasquantino needs to get off his feet.