Salvador Perez is truly a team player.
The Kansas City Royals held a $13.5 million club option for Perez, their nine-time All-Star and captain, for the upcoming season. On the surface, it was below market value, and exercising it might have looked like they were getting a bargain. Instead, they found even more of a bargain.
On Tuesday, the Royals announced that Perez will return for the next two seasons on a fully guaranteed deal, which removes an item from their early-offseason agenda. That was great enough news for the club on its own, but to top it off, they’re getting a great deal.
Sep 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) reacts with teammates after hitting a three-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
According to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Perez extension is worth $25 million, meaning he’s actually taking a pay cut on an average annual value basis to stay a Royal.
“Source: Salvador Perez’s new contract with the is worth a guaranteed $25 million over the two years,” Rogers wrote. “There’s a signing bonus and some deferred money within the contract, but it essentially works out to $12.5 million a year.”
Obviously, Perez isn’t guaranteed to continue producing at a high level in his age-36 and 37 seasons. And on the surface, his stats took a hit this year after All-Star campaigns in 2023 and 2024.
But Perez also clubbed 30 home runs and drove in 100 runs this season, and most quality-of-contact metrics agree he got quite unlucky. Even if he’s only going to catch about half of the team’s games next year, he is still a crucial middle-of-the-order bat.
Spotrac’s estimated market value for Perez is two years, $28 million, so according to at least one projection system, the deal is relatively fair for the production the Royals expect they’re getting. We here at Royals on SI proposed a creative two-year, $34 million extension earlier this fall.
Any way you slice it, the Royals made out well here. The captain is sticking around, and more importantly, he allowed his team to preserve about as much financial flexibility as it could reasonably hope to attain.
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