Just four days ago, the Royals thought they were set.
They had finished the Cactus League portion of spring training without major injuries befalling any of the players who figured to be part of their 25-man roster for Thursday’s season opener against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. They wouldn’t have outfielder Jorge Bonifacio, who is serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug Baldenone, but they were ready to open the 2018 season with all their key players intact.
By Thursday morning, the Royals’ fortunes had drastically reversed.
Four-time Gold Glove catcher Salvador Perez was placed on the disabled list after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, an injury he said was caused when he missed a step on a staircase as he was unloading luggage in his house Tuesday night.