KANSAS CITY — The Royals have signed catcher Salvador Perez to a two-year contract that runs through the 2027 season, the club announced Tuesday night.
The club did not announce terms, but a source told MLB.com that the two-year deal is worth $25 million guaranteed. There’s a $7 million signing bonus and some deferred money that won’t hit the books for a few years, but it essentially works out to an average annual value of $12.5 million, according to a source.
It was never a question of if Perez would stay with Kansas City next year. Rather, how the finances and contract structure would play out remained a question until this week, when teams and players must decide on their contract options for the next year. Perez’s 2026 club option was worth $13.5 million with a $2 million buyout, so he’ll make a little less money but gets an extra year guaranteed — while increasing the likelihood he is a Royal for his entire career.
And that’s all he and the Royals would like to see.
“Salvy is a Royals legend and one of the most important players this franchise has ever had,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said in a statement. “We had the option for next year, but everyone knew we wanted to make sure his legacy with us continued longer than that. We appreciate Salvy’s commitment to the Royals, and we’re just as excited as our fans.”
Perez, 35, just finished his 14th Major League season with Kansas City, the organization that signed him as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela in 2006. Since his debut in 2011, Perez has become a World Series champion, a five-time Gold Glove Award winner, a nine-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger Award winner and the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award winner.
This past season, Perez posted a .236/.284/.446 slash line and hit 30 home runs — the second-highest total of his career, trailing his franchise record-tying 48 homer season in ’21. Perez also drove in 100 runs, marking his third season with at least 100 RBIs and second consecutive after a remarkable 2024 season that saw Perez help the Royals back to the postseason for the first time in nine years.
The 2025 season also saw Perez reach the 300-homer and 1,000-RBI career milestones. He’s one of eight primary catchers in Major League history with 300 home runs and one of 15 catchers with 1,000 RBIs.
Perez ranks among the Royals’ all-time leaders in home runs (second, 303), RBIs (second, 1,106), extra-base hits (third, 634), hits (sixth, 1,712) and games (seventh, 1,707). Perez is 14 homers shy of matching Hall of Famer George Brett (317) for the club’s all-time home run record.
While Perez continues to put a bow on what could very well be a Hall of Fame career, he always insists that he’s not done yet. His catching workload has decreased, and will likely continue to do so, especially with the emergence of Royals top prospect Carter Jensen. But staying fresh allows Perez to continue to be an offensive threat in the middle of Kansas City’s lineup. He continues to defy time. His numbers support that, as does the way he carries himself on and off the field, in the clubhouse and around his teammates.
He’s the heart and soul of the franchise. The Captain isn’t going anywhere.
