City Royals Announce Massive Roster Move as 3 Key Players Head to Injured List…

The Kansas City Royals hope a two-hit night will help soothe the pain in Salvador Perez’s right knee as the club’s three-game series against the host Oakland Athletics continues Wednesday night. Perez had a pair of singles, Adam Frazier a double, Kyle Isbel a triple and Nick Loftin a home run Tuesday night, but the Royals mustered up just two other hits — none with runners in scoring position — in a 7-5 loss to the A’s in the series opener.

The homer for Loftin was his first in the majors. Perez had been questionable for Tuesday’s game. He took Saturday off and served only as a designated hitter on Sunday.

The Royals had a scheduled off day on Monday. Perez was last behind the plate Friday and was 1-for-11 in his previous three games. Royals manager Matt Quatraro played Perez at first base on Tuesday, finding a way to keep his .296 hitter in the lineup, and plans to mix in a stint there and at designated hitter going forward.

The Royals even made a roster move Tuesday with Perez’s health in mind, opting to keep a third catcher (Austin Nola) on the roster and instead sent outfielder Drew Waters to Triple-A Omaha when promoting reliever Carlos Hernandez.

“We felt like it was important to continue to have Salvy get another day to see how he was going to be with his knee,” Quatraro said of not employing his veteran behind the plate. “He’s back in there at first (base), but we needed coverage with Nola, so we opted to send Waters out. Not an easy decision, but something we felt was best for the whole team right now.