Royals' Salvador Perez, Matt Quatraro Squash Public Spat

The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets are tied for the worst record in MLB, but they’re also tied for the worst vibes.

On Saturday, Royals manager Matt Quatraro was ejected in the first inning of the team’s 13-4 loss to the New York Yankees.

All-Star and Gold Glove catcher Salvador Perez was also absent, as Quatraro chose to sit him for the first time this season for what he described as “a little mental breather.” Perez later fired back on X, writing. “I don’t need a mental breather.”

The Royals extended their losing streak on Sunday afternoon, but Perez and Quatraro ended their public feud.

“Little confused, you know. Not the right communication,” Perez said, per ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle. “I’m good. Family’s good. Everybody’s good.”

Perez added, “People were surprised I didn’t play yesterday, but everybody has an off day in the big leagues. It’s hard to play 162 games, especially behind home plate.”

Perez said he and Quatraro were “good” after talking about his social media post.

Meanwhile, Quatraro expressed regret over his “wording” - using the phrase “mental breather” - and explained what he meant.

“What stands out to me is the mental breather was, from my perspective, telling him the night before he wasn’t playing, so we can take something off his plate, of preparing for our starting pitcher and the game plan, the opposing starting pitcher,” Quatraro said.

Perez was back in the starting lineup as the designated hitter on Sunday afternoon, but it was more of the same for the Royals. Kansas City lost 7-0 to the Yankees for a seventh straight loss and 10th loss in 12 games.

The Royals will host the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium next week.

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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 8:47 PM.