Salvador Perez partakes in winter league to get at-bats

Royals catcher Salvador Perez spent part of his offseason playing in the Venezuelan Winter League. He hit .289 with a .385 slugging percentage, .705 OPS, one home run, eight doubles and 17 RBI in 31 games.

Surprisingly, Perez didn't spend much time behind the plate, making 22 appearances at first base.

"Salvy's going to catch the bulk of the games here, and it was more for the at-bats than anything," assistant general manager J.J. Picollo told MLB.com. "It's something that Salvy takes a lot of pride in, and he wanted to help his team and play down there, so it was a way to get him at-bats and not have him get beat up behind the plate."