KC Royals Catcher Salvador Perez Suffers Knee Impact

The KC Royals could have suffered another devastating blow when third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert slammed into catcher Salvador Perez’s knee while chasing a pop foul Saturday afternoon against Chicago.

Cuthbert slammed into Perez’s knee and appeared to bend it backwards on replays. Perez immediately raised his hand for help, and then started to pound the dirt in frustration.

Perez required help from trainers to leave the field.

This play did not look good at all. He looked much worse than Mike Moustakas after his collision with Alex Gordon. Moustakas left the field without help, but later discovered he had torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

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Moustakas will miss the rest of the 2016 season.

Unless the KC Royals catch some serious luck, they could be looking at losing Salvador Perez to a similar injury only one week later.  [UPDATE: Early reports indicate Perez suffered a quadriceps muscle contusion without structural damage to the knee, per Ned Yost]

Kauffman Stadium went dead silent after Perez’s injury.

Perez and Cuthbert were going after a pop fly just outside the third base foul line. Perez was looking into the sky to make the play when Cheslor Cuthbert slammed into  Perez’s left knee. The play occurred in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Kansas City Royals trailing the White Sox 7-1.

The fact is, the KC Royals don’t have anyone who can come close to replacing Salvador Perez. Perez is a three-time Gold Glove catcher who is hitting  .277/.313/.494 with nine defensive runs saved.

This Tweet pretty much sums up the fear of very Kansas City fan:

Losing Perez could have a devastating impact on the Kansas City Royals hopes of defending their 2015 title, especially after learning third baseman Mike Moustakas will miss the rest of 2016 due to a torn ACL.

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Stay tuned, KC Royals fans. This doesn’t look good.