Comments on: The Royals Sign Salvador Perez

By: ben

ben — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:14:49 +0000

the smartest thing this team has done in 20 years.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 03:11:29 +0000

Signing young anchors up the middle (Sal, Lorenzo, Danny, Al) means long-term stability that we haven’t had since…

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:34:12 +0000

“maybe others will be more likely to take a deal like Perez got.”

Might also suggest to others that they really don’t want Scott Boras as an agent sometime in the future.

By: DanL

DanL — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:21:54 +0000

Seemed to come out of nowhere – who was thinking about a long term deal for Perez this spring??? The numbers sound fair considering Perez is at the beginning of his career. If he turns into a hall-of-fame caliber catcher in the next eight years, he’ll get paid at the going rate eight years from now. Not much money lost on Perez’s part, but he gains the security of a guarenteed contract.

One possible by-product of this is that the other guys seem to like Perez, maybe others will be more likely to take a deal like Perez got.

By: Mr. Dave

Mr. Dave — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:07:07 +0000

I LOVE this deal. Not only is it a brilliant signing, but it shows that the Royals are serious about actually keeping these kids around. They’re actually trying to build a winning team, and a contender for years to come. If they can lock down Hosmer and Moose somehow, then it seems like everything will be coming into place for them.

By: KHAZAD

KHAZAD — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:09:42 +0000

Best Deal Ever. The Royals don’t even lose much on this deal if he busts or gets injured, and if he becomes very good, they have basically stolen him. If he is an every day player, but does not reach expectations, it is still a good deal. A long term deal for a young player with 3 team options on the end is ideal for a small market club.

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:32:41 +0000

Good points, Ted. Looked up catchers last night on fangraphs and a positive defense catcher who can ring up 3fWAR is much rarer than an ace pitcher. Given current market value, Perez only needs about 5.5 WAR over eight years to make this a positive for the team.

By: Ted

Ted — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:12:36 +0000

Signing an promising young player for 8 seasons is a potential boon for marketing, but the fact that Perez is a catcher makes this even more exciting for me. Good-to-great catchers often can become the lifeblood of a clubhouse and of an organization: Joe Mauer, obviously, but also Pudge in his day, Carlton Fisk, Joe Carter (though he was always too nice to be the face of the Mets), Mike Piazza to a certain extent, Posada in many ways, Yogi Berra…and now possibly Yadier Molina in St Louis. Anyway, locking up a catcher with Perez’s potential could provide not only great monetary value, but also a fantastic opportunity for branding the franchise. Plus defense behind the plate, solid leadership in the clubhouse and good production at the plate could make Perez this franchise’s cornerstone for next 8 years. Of course it doesn’t have to work out that way for this to be a good signing, but that sort of upside is enticing.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:03:38 +0000

This is a major announcment. The Royals just locked up a catcher who has performed better than all but and handful of catchers ever have at his age. There is zero risk barring injury. He’s getting paid like a backup over 8 years and has every chance to emerge as one of the best at his position in the game over that time. I’m as excited for this deal as I would be for any deal they could have announced given the fact there is next to zero downside risk. An extension for Hosmer, Moustakas, Gordon or the like carries substantial risk–risks probably worth taking granted–but the Perez contract has the potential to be one of the best contracts in baseball. Now, he has to continue to develop and it won’t be the envy of every team in baseball unless he hits some (say .275 with some pop– and that’s optimistic imo).

I’ve said before that the Royals will need to sign deals in which the player grossly outperforms the money being paid. This deal looks like there’s a pretty good chance that will happen.

There’s no way this deal prevents the Royals from continuing to address their needs from a financial standpoint either. An extension for Moustakas/Hosmer/Gordon potentially lock the Royals in to one of those guys in lieu of the others. The more contracts like Sal’s on the books, though, the more likely they can extend more of the other young talent. I’m a happy fan today. Kudos Dayton Moore.

By: Nick Scott

Nick Scott — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:02:30 +0000

I almost feel sorry for Salvador. though he will have $7m which is pretty nice. Having all three options be club options is insane.