The Royals may be recognizing a key factor with new Salvador Perez deal

One of the biggest questions facing the Kansas City Royals as they geared up for their offseason quest for improvement was what they planned to do with Salvador Perez, for whom they held a club option for the 2026 season.

"Mystery" solved. In a not-so-surprising Tuesday evening announcement reported by MLB.com KC beat writer Anne Rogers, the Royals revealed they've signed the face of the franchise to a new two-year contract.

Rogers wrote that the deal will pay Perez $25 million and he's receiving a $7 million signing bonus. His option, if Kansas had simply picked it up, would have been worth $13.5 million for 2026.

Although it's since been surpassed by the multi-season mega-deal Bobby Witt Jr. signed in early 2024, Perez received a then-club record deal worth at least $82 million during spring training in 2021.

Royals general manager sings Salvador Perez's praises

That this franchise loves and values its nine-time All-Star catcher was made more than clear by general manager J.J. Picollo's Tuesday night remarks as reported by Rogers.

"Salvy is a Royals legend and one of the most important players this franchise has ever had," 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," he said.

Does the new Salvador Perez deal have a "hedge" side for the Royals?

Perez's career accomplishments are unrivaled by any catcher in Royals' history. Besides his nine All-Star selections, he broke Hall of Famer George Brett's club record by winning his fourth Silver Slugger in 2021, and for good measure added a fifth in 2024. He's also captured five Gold Gloves. He tied Jorge Soler's single-season club home run record of 48 during his record-breaking 2021 campaign. And the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award winner continued to move up Kansas City's all-time offensive leaderboard in 2025.

And although he hit 30 homers and drove in 100 runs this season, it's difficult to believe the duration of Perez's new deal doesn't represent a hedge of sorts for the Royals. They could have tacked on another year or two, but limiting the contract to two years might suggest the club realizes their captain's career is winding down.

Perez, after all, is preparing for his 15th and age-36 season. He loves to catch, but the physical toll of catching in nearly 1,400 regular season games (1,383 to be precise) can't be ignored.

He still pounds homers and drives in runs — not counting the 2019 campaign he missed recovering from Tommy John Surgery and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he hasn't failed to homer at least 21 times since 2014, and has driven in 100 runs or more in three of the past five years.

But 2025's .236/.284/.446 line fell well below his career .264/.301/.457 mark and he hit only .198 over the campaign's final two months.

Perez's recent numbers are mixed — some prove conclusively that he still has much to offer at the plate, but others hint at some decline. Obvious decline will come too soon for everyone's taste, but a two-year contract makes perfect sense under the circumstances.

But if Perez keeps defying time, bet on the Royals bringing him back again when those two years are up.