Royals' Salvador Perez Has 4-Word Response To KC's Early Offensive Struggles
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Maybe the Kansas City Royals can pitch their way to the playoffs again in 2025, but it sure would be nice to have a top-tier offense as well.
Last season, the Royals struggled to get offensive contributions from players not named Bobby Witt Jr. This year, Witt is off to a mediocre start by his lofty standards, and the Royals are tied for 22nd in runs scored while ranking 25th in team OPS.
The Royals had already been struggling, but their most recent game against the Minnesota Twins was the low point so far. Twins starter Joe Ryan threw seven scoreless innings and allowed just two hits, handing the Royals a 4-0 loss.
On Wednesday, following the shutout loss, Royals catcher and captain Salvador Perez shared a simple message: trust the process.
“Everybody can see the numbers,” Perez said, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. “They probably think we’re not hitting good right now. But it’s a long season. And we’re still hitting the ball hard. That’s the most important thing. Hit the ball hard and see what happens after that.”
Those four words are really the only ones that matter right now: "It's a long season." Look around the league, and you'll see other teams with star-studded lineups struggling offensively as well--the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox quickly come to mind.
At some point soon, Witt will get cooking. It's not as though his .765 OPS is bad, but it's 200 points lower than the mark he set last year, and he's only got one home run through 12 games after posting 32 last season.
Perez, who has a .549 OPS, may be the biggest culprit to this point. But he's a nine-time All-Star and hasn't posted an OPS under .700 since 2014, so it's a very safe bet he'll turn things around too.
It can be frustrating waiting for things to work themselves out, and the Royals offense still might not be much better than average in the long haul. But rest assured, this lineup is better than it's shown to this point.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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