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Salvador Perez Out With Sore Elbow on Thursday
Kansas City Royals catcher/first baseman Salvador Perez (elbow) is out of Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays due to a sore left elbow, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Carter Jensen is doing the catching for right-hander Stephen Kolek and will bat leadoff for the Royals, with outfielder Starling Marte serving as the designated hitter and batting fifth against Rays right-hander Ian Seymour. The Royals called up catcher Luke Maile from Triple-A Omaha on Thursday, which could suggest that Perez's injury is enough to sideline him into the weekend and potentially land him on the injured list heading into the All-Star break. The aging Venezuelan backstop could probably use some time off, though, as he's hitting just .201/.241/.327 on the year with a career-worst .568 OPS, 10 homers, 30 RBI, 29 runs, and a 20.3% strikeout rate in his 340 plate appearances. In 23 games in June, Perez really struggled, going 18-for-96 (.188) with a homer, four doubles, five RBI, eight runs scored, one walk, and 21 strikeouts.
Source: MLB.com - Anne Rogers
Source: MLB.com - Anne Rogers
