The Kansas City Royals announced an extension for one of their young players, but surprisingly it was not Alex Gordon or Eric Hosmer. Instead Dayton Moore and company locked up 22-year-old catcher Salvador Perez with a long-term deal announced yesterday.
As our own Matt Hays reported yesterday, “Backstop is a premium position in the major leagues, and Perez is a star in the making at the position. He is well above average defensively and starting to develop power in the batters box as well.”
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Most sportswriters liked the money for the Royals and believe it’s a good move, although some question the timing of it given the obvious extension candidates already waiting on deck. R. J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus answers that with a response of, “Why not?”
Anderson writes, “The biggest question to ask the Royals about re-signing Perez is, "Why now?" Extensions that come this early in a player’s career tend to be reserved for future superstars. Such a description would not seem to fit Perez, unless the Royals feel strongly about his power potential. But then again, why would the Royals not do this deal? The money involved should not be enough to affect a potential Alex Gordon extension, and locking up Eric Hosmer seems to be a matter of forcing Scott Boras out of the picture one way or another. This is an extension worth signing, even if the Royals see Perez as an average to above-average backstop and nothing more.”
A deal should exist in a vacuum in this instance and the Perez deal is a good one. Hats off to Moore for locking up one of his wise investments from the farm system.