Salvy dons first baseman's mitt in bid for flexibility

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The mask comes off, and there’s Salvador Perez’s big smile. He’s yukking it up with other players, he’s tossing balls to fans, he’s relishing these occasional opportunities to ditch the so-called “tools of ignorance” and roam free.

Just because Vinnie Pasquantino is back from shoulder surgery doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Perez as a first baseman. In fact, on Saturday at Surprise Stadium, we saw Salvy’s first start of the spring there. He also clobbered his third homer of the spring in the Royals’ 6-5 win over the D-backs.

“I think it helps me be available,” Perez said of playing first. “I still love catching, but I try to play first base to help my team [field] the best lineup we can get that day.”

Especially with so many new pitchers on the staff, the Royals wanted Perez to set a spring foundation in his catching work before re-integrating him at first. But with Opening Day less than three weeks away, Saturday’s game was viewed as a good time for Salvy to break out the first baseman’s glove.

“I see us mixing him in over there,” said manager Matt Quatraro, “not as a 50/50 thing or whatever, but it’s an option.”

Perez’s 21 starts at first last season were by far a career high. Should the Royals want to operate similarly this year, catcher Freddy Fermin, who was worth 1.7 wins above replacement per Baseball-Reference last season, is a strong insurance option behind the dish.

“You never know who’s on the mound, who’s going to play,” Perez said. “Maybe Vinnie DH’s one day, so I can help him take a day.”

Perez’s continued adaptation to first presents an interesting dynamic in which he, the eight-time All-Star, is asking questions of Pasquantino, who has played all of 133 games in the big leagues.

“He takes it in stride,” said Pasquantino, “and he’s more athletic than meets the eye.”

Vinnie P. powers up
Pasquantino had told Quatraro that if he went deep in his first at-bat Saturday, he would head straight to the clubhouse and call it a day.

So what happened?

“He’s a liar,” Quatraro joked.

Pasquantino did, indeed, go deep in the first to go back to back with Perez and record his first homer of the Cactus season. But he stayed in the game.

It’s a good thing he did. Pasquantino wound up with a 3-for-4 day in which he scored two runs and took another big step in his return from right labrum surgery.

“There's definitely some days I don't feel as good as others,” Pasquantino said. “But I've talked to a lot of guys who've had similar stuff, and it's going to take a little bit before everything is just loose. I just have to be smart with how I progress for the season and make sure I’m keeping my strength.”

Wacha starts, departs… and returns?
Reason No. 1,389,180 why Spring Training is funny is that starting pitchers can leave a game in a particular inning where their pitch count gets too high, only to return the following inning.

Veteran starter Michael Wacha had that happen in Saturday’s tilt, when he was roughed up for three runs in a taxing second inning. Minor Leaguer Walter Pennington was summoned to record the final out of the second, and Wacha returned to pitch a perfect third.

“I’ve done that before, unfortunately,” said Wacha, who was charged with the three runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. “It’s not a good feeling. But it’s nice that we’ve got these rules to kind of protect us on our buildups. It’s definitely weird, but I’ve just tried to flush it and get back out there and get back to work.”

Wacha said he’ll continue to work on getting ahead of batters. Because obviously, there are no such rules protecting him in the season proper.

Duffey back to work
After having his spring – and his life – upended by a melanoma diagnosis, non-roster reliever Tyler Duffey returned to throwing off a mound Saturday. He’s not ready for game action, but this was an important step for Duffey, who had 40 stitches in his upper back as part of his treatment.

“It's great for him,” Quatraro said of Duffey’s progression. “He's super anxious to get back out there. Nobody wants to have their spring derailed for any reason, but especially that.”