By The Associated Press
Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez is headed for Tommy John surgery and out for the season. New York Yankees ace Luis Severino is shut down, too — at least through opening day.
Hours after Severino stopped warming up in the bullpen because of an inflamed right shoulder, the Royals announced more damaging news Tuesday: Perez will have surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow, keeping the six-time All-Star off the field for the entire year.
Perez hurt the elbow during a workout last week and said over the weekend that he was harboring a slim hope he might be able to play through it. Instead, he is expected to undergo surgery Wednesday.
"There was nothing that can prepare us for this. There was no information we had that led us this direction," Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. "Salvy was having no issues. He's asymptomatic. He has wear and tear, just like any 28-year-old catcher who's been squatting and catching since he was 12 years old. There was no warning sign or anything like that."
Perez hit just .235 last season but had 27 homers and 80 RBIs while providing a solid and calming presence behind the plate. The MVP of the 2015 World Series was being counted upon to help the rebuilding Royals take the steps necessary to return to the playoffs, particularly when it came to their young but promising rotation.
Now, Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria are expected to share time behind the plate.
The Yankees will rework their rotation while Severino recovers. He was loosening up for his first spring training start when he felt something wrong as he threw his first slider. He won't throw for two weeks, manager Aaron Boone said after a 5-1 win over Atlanta.
"Obviously, anytime a starting pitcher and a guy like Sevie walks off while he's warming up to start a game, you always get worried and concerned about that," Boone said. "But it sounds like the shoulder is pretty clean, it's just the inflammation issue.
So if that's the case, then hopefully two weeks is something that will do the trick, then he can start ramping back up with his throwing program, but we'll re-evaluate it also at the same time."
The Yankees open at home on March 28 against Baltimore.
Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, CC Sabathia and J.A. Happ are also projected to be in the Yankees' rotation. Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loaisiga and Domingo German are possible short-term replacements for Severino.
Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez remain available as free agents.
Severino agreed to a $40 million, four-year contract before this season. The 25-year-old right-hander is a two-time All-Star. He went 19-8 with a 3.39 ERA last year.
