Royals’ Salvador Perez Is On The Verge Of Reaching A Huge Milestone In 2026
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The Kansas City Royals were unsuccessful in reaching the postseason for the second straight year in 2025. However, the campaign didn’t come without noteworthy performances from several key players.
Third baseman Maikel Garcia and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino both broke out, while shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. had yet another terrific year. And then there’s veteran catcher Salvador Perez.
He played in 155 games during 2025, which is the fourth time he’s appeared in at least 140 contests since 2021. While his 0.4 bWAR was much lower than his 2024 total (2.5), Perez slugged 30 home runs with 35 doubles, and 100 RBI. It’s the first time in his 14-year career that he’s reached the 30-30-100 plateau.
It also puts him in perfect position to break a long-standing Kansas City franchise record, as long as he returns for his 15th season with the club in 2026.
Salvador Perez Could Become The Royals’ All-Time Home Run King In 2026
The veteran backstop finished 2025 with 303 career home runs. He’s now just the second Royal to surpass the 300-homer mark, and he’s within shouting distance of the all time record.
Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett is currently the Royals’ career home run leader. He slugged 317 homers during his 21-year MLB career. After doing some quick napkin math, that leaves Perez just 15 short of breaking Brett’s record next season.
He’s averaged 141 games played and about 25 homers per season since the start of 2022, so it feels like the backstop could have this record before the 2026 regular season is finished. The only thing left to do is for the Royals to officially exercise their club option to keep Perez in KC for another year.
This past season was the conclusion of Perez’s four-year, $82 million extension, but it also included a $13.5 million club option for 2026. General manager J.J. Picollo wasted no time in announcing the organization’s intentions with Perez, though.
“I think it’s safe to say that one way or another, Salvy will be in a Royals uniform in ‘26,” he told reporters on September 30, including Jaylon Thompson of The Kansas City Star.
If Perez passes Brett next season, he’d have the honor being the Royals’ all-time and single-season home run leader. He hit 48 in 2021, which is tied with Jorge Soler for the franchise record (he slugged 48 in 2019).
So, as the Royals attempt to reload and return to the postseason in 2026, Perez will also have everyone on milestone-watch.
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Matt Musico covers Major League Baseball for various On SI sites. His bylines include FanBuzz, Elite Sports NY, FanSided, Sportscasting and FanDuel. He’s also the creator of MLB Daily Dingers, a baseball blog dedicated to honoring baseball’s home run history. Matt began his sportswriting career in 2011 by writing about baseball on his personal blog. While he has written about all of the major professional sports, most of his time has been spent obsessively following MLB. Matt is also a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America (IBWAA).