Royals catcher Salvador Perez sidelined by mild groin strain

CHICAGO (AP) — Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez had an MRI on Monday that showed a mild groin strain.

It was a promising development for Kansas City after Perez left Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the New York Mets following a fourth-inning collision at home plate with Starling Marte.

“It was the best result we could have hoped for,” manager Matt Quatraro said before a 2-0 victory against the White Sox. “Just a mild groin strain, nothing to do with his hip or any other body parts. So we were as happy as we could be with that.”

The 33-year-old Perez rested during the win at Chicago in the opener of a three-game series. Freddy Fermin started at catcher and went 1 for 4.

“He did want to play today, but we’re going to use discretion there and give him a full day of treatment,” Quatraro said.

Perez is batting .339 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 16 games this season. He hit his 250th career homer on Saturday.