Royals to place Salvador Perez on bereavement list

The Royals starting catcher will miss at least three games following the death of his grandmother.

By Connor Moylan May 25, 2013, 6:08pm EDT

The Kansas City Royals will place starting catcher Salvador Perez on the bereavement list Sunday, and call up catcher Adam Moore from Triple-A to take his spot on the roster, the team announced on Saturday.

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Perez is leaving the team to be with his family following the death of his maternal grandmother. The catcher will miss 3-7 games, making him eligible to return to the lineup Wednesday at the earliest.

The 23-year-old has been solid offensively for the Royals this season, hitting .311/.327/.411 in 156 plate appearances. Perez has only drawn three walks this season and currently sports a .365 BABIP, so there is reason to suspect that he will start to regress offensively. Still, the catcher makes solid contact at the plate and has looked strong defensively.

George Kottaras and Moore will split playing time with Perez out of the lineup. Kottaras and Moore battled in spring training for the team's backup catcher position; the Royals chose the stronger offensive catcher Kottaras over the better defensive option in Moore.

Kottaras has struggled to make contact, but has still been above-average offensively in 33 plate apperances this season, hitting .167/.394/.375. Moore has shown some pop in Triple-A but little else, hitting .190/.297/.405 in 91 plate appearances.