Salvador Perez injury: Royals catcher out 4-6 weeks with Grade 2 MCL tear

Royals catcher Salvador Perez will miss the next four-to-six weeks after being diagnosed with an MCL tear in his left knee, the team announced on Wednesday. Jeffrey Flanagan tweets that Perez suffered the injury when he slipped while carrying his luggage on Tuesday night. 

Perez, who's going into his age-28 season, is coming off a 2017 campaign in which he put up an OPS+ of 105 with 27 home runs in 129 games. For his career, he owns an OPS+ of 99 across parts of seven big-league seasons. Perez is a five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner. 

Perez previously underwent surgery on his left knee in March of 2012, but that was to repair the meniscus. Per Rustin Dodd, Ned Yost says he doesn't think surgery will be necessary this time. While Perez is sidelined, Drew Butera will serve as the Royals' primary catcher. Cam Gallagher figures to make the roster as Butera's backup.

To be sure, this is a blow to the Royals, but the team doesn't profile as a fringe contender even with Perez at full health. If anything, the loss of Perez for a month or more increases Kansas City's chances of landing a high draft pick in 2019.