What It Means:

Perez was steamrolled by catcher Drew Butera on a play at home plate Saturday during the World Baseball Classic. So far all of his tests have come back clean and he's only dealing with inflammation. It's great news for the Royals, who were obviously fearing the worst. Despite avoiding a major injury, Perez has pulled out of the WBC and will have his roster spot vacated immediately. Robinson Chirinos will handle the catching duties for Venezuela in Sunday's Pool D finale versus Mexico.

Perez handled full-time duties last year, with 546 plate appearances in 139 games. He slugged 22 home runs with 64 RBI, adding those to a .247/.288/.438 slash line. His 21.8 percent strikeout rate was a career-worst.