KANSAS CITY — The Royals announced Friday that Salvador Perez will have surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament on his left thumb after the catcher reaggravated the injury earlier this week. Perez is expected to return to play this season.
Perez was sidelined in May with a left thumb sprain after he injured his thumb while swinging. He returned after 10 days and served as the Royals’ primary catcher for a month before he felt the same injury again on Tuesday in Anaheim. He sat out of the lineup for Wednesday’s series finale while the Royals awaited MRI results to determine the next steps.
Unfortunately for the catcher looking for his eighth All-Star appearance, surgery is needed. Perez is slashing .211/.254/.426 this year, with a team-leading 11 home runs.
Perez was placed on the 10-day injured list, and the Royals reinstated outfielder Edward Olivares from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Omaha, where he had been working back from a right quad strain. Rookie catcher MJ Melendez will figure to be the primary backstop in Perez’s absence, with Cam Gallagher as the backup.
