Royals 'really glad' as Salvy not expected to hit IL

CHICAGO -- The hope that Salvador Perez’s left groin/hip injury sustained Sunday afternoon wouldn’t keep the Royals’ catcher down for long began circulating on the plane ride from New York to Chicago.

Manager Matt Quatraro noticed Perez wasn’t walking nearly as gingerly getting on and off the airplane as the catcher had been when leaving the field in the fourth inning Sunday.

“I was hopeful that today went well, but I was really glad when I heard it did,” Quatraro said.

Indeed, Perez’s MRI scan taken Monday in Chicago “was the best result we could have hoped for,” Quatraro said. Imaging showed a mild left groin strain that is not expected to require an injured list stint. Catcher Logan Porter traveled to Chicago on Monday to be a one-man taxi squad -- meaning he’s not on the active roster -- in case the Royals quickly needed a backup.

But all signs point to Perez needing one or a few days off to recover and get treatment. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him get back into the lineup as the designated hitter or first baseman before going full-go behind the plate. He was not in the lineup Tuesday but would have been available off the bench if the game hadn't been postponed due to rain. Perez's status for Wednesday's doubleheader remains to be seen.

In the meantime, backup catcher Freddy Fermin will step in behind the plate.

Perez is likely unavailable Monday night in the series opener against the White Sox -- although that didn’t stop him from lobbying to play when Quatraro arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday.

Perez said he’s experiencing very little pain and seemed adamant he’ll play on Tuesday.

“He wants to play every inning of every game,” Quatraro said. “He did want to play today, but we’re going to use discretion there and give him a full day of treatment. I know where he’ll be in about the fourth inning, right next to me asking me to pinch-hit. But we’ll see how long we can hold him off.

“... We have to take it day to day, quite literally, just to see how he wakes up tomorrow and how he’s moving around. And then we have options of catching him, first base, DH, whatever we think is going to be sustainable for him to be back in there as often as possible.”

Perez was involved in a home-plate collision Sunday against the Mets, when left fielder MJ Melendez threw out Starling Marte at home plate to end the fourth inning. It was a clean slide, but Marte’s leg struck Perez on the inside part of his left leg. The 33-year-old catcher was able to get up, but he was severely limping and left the game with what the Royals called a left groin and hip injury.

The scans taken Monday showed no injury to Perez’s hip, according to Quatraro.