CHICAGO

The Kansas City Royals have counted on Salvador Perez for a long time.

Perez is the lone remaining member of the 2015 World Series team. And he was the captain that guided the ship throughout an extended playoff drought.

It was easy to pencil in the Royals lineup. Perez would take his customary spot batting cleanup behind whoever was in front of him. In recent years, those players have changed over from Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas to Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino.

Perez was always dependable. He thrived with runners in scoring position and was a feared bat in the Royals lineup.

Just look at last season.

Perez hit .271 with 27 home runs and 104 RBIs. He appeared in 158 games and posted a .786 OPS (on-base plus slugging). In clutch moments, Perez found a way to driv

See Full Page