The Royals breathed a sigh of relief this morning when the results of the second MRI on the knee of All-Star catcher Salvador Perez showed no structural damage to his knee. The initial MRI following the injury was also clean, but club officials and fans alike were still awaiting the results of these most recent tests.
Rustin Dodd later tweeted that Perez believes he will be ready for opening day.
Perez was injured after some Royal on Royal warfare when fellow catcher Drew Butera slid into Salvy during their matchup in the World Baseball Classic. Butera was scrambling home when the relay throw led Perez up the third base line into the patch of a barreling Butera. Butera awkwardly crashed into the leg of Perez and Perez was then later helped off the field as he was unable to walk under his own power.
Butera is playing for team Italy in the 2017 WBC while Perez has suited up for Venezuela. Perez has already been ruled out from returning to the WBC this year.
