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Kansas City Royals Place Catcher Salvador Perez on Injured List With Concussion

Originally posted on FanNation Fastball | By Sam Connon | Last updated 9/18/23

The Kansas City Royals have placed catcher Salvador Perez on the seven-day concussion list, the team announced Monday morning.

To fill out the active roster, the Royals selected catcher Tyler Cropley from Triple-A Omaha. In a related move, Kansas City moved catcher Freddy Fermin from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list with a left middle finger fracture.

Perez got hit in the facemask by a foul ball Saturday, and manager Matt Quatraro told reporters on Sunday that the catcher had been diagnosed with a non-concussive head impact. The situation appears to have changed, though, as he was listed with a concussion on the Royals' official transaction log.

In 133 games this season, Perez has 21 home runs and 72 RBI while batting .252 with a .706 OPS.

Perez made his eighth All-Star Game this year. The 33-year-old veteran leads all active catchers with 244 home runs, 804 RBI, 1,403 hits and 2,413 total bases in his career.

This marks Perez's first stint on the injured list this season. He spent time on the injured list twice in 2022 after playing 161 of 162 games in 2021.

The Royals' season is essentially over regardless of Perez's status. Kansas City, now staring down a 48-102 record, was mathematically eliminated from postseason contention all the way back on Aug. 29.

Rookie Logan Porter started in place of Perez on Sunday. He is 4-for-10 with a home run, a double and three RBI through his first three MLB games.

Cropley, who has yet to appear in a major league contest himself, has played in 162 minor league games since getting picked by the Washington Nationals in the eighth round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Kansas City briefly called Cropley up earlier this month, but he was designated for assignment before seeing any action.

Perez will be eligible to return next Sunday against the Houston Astros. From there, all the Royals have left are a pair of three-game series against the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

This article first appeared on FanNation Fastball and was syndicated with permission.

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