Big questions (with key answers) for every KC Royals position heading into 2025

A huge question faces the Kansas City Royals as they prepare to begin spring training in a few short weeks and the 2025 regular season in less than three months — can they be better than the 2024 club that shook off several straight awful seasons and re-legitimized itself with a spot in the playoffs? It's a fair and important, but not the only, inquiry that must be made of this team and general manager J.J. Picollo. Big questions must also be answered at each position.

Going around the field, here are some answers.

Catcher: How much time will Salvador Pérez spend behind the plate?

How the Royals answer this question becomes more important with each passing season. Pérez plays, and prefers to play, the game's most physically demanding position, but entering his age-35 season, he must continue to catch less and play elsewhere more. That's the only way he can slow time's attack on his formidable skill set, prolong his stellar career, and increase the likelihood of getting into the Hall of Fame.

Expect the Royals to continue their trend of reducing Pérez's catching — 72 of his 81 career appearances at first base have come over the past two seasons. That he made no errors in 49 games there last year proves he plays the position well. He's also quite capable of handling more time as KC's designated hitter.

Fortunately, Freddy Fermin's pleasantly surprising emergence as a good big league catcher affords manager Matt Quatraro the luxury of lightening Pérez's load. Look for Pérez to catch fewer than the 91 times he did in 2024.