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Kansas City Royals veteran catcher Salvador Perez lined up to DH for his team in Thursday afternoon’s tilt against the Minnesota Twins.
Unfortunately for the 36-year-old, he had to go back behind the plate after rookie Carter Jensen was unavailable to play catcher for the Royals after sleeping through his alarm.
Jensen was scratched late as the Royals’ starting catcher for the game, but it’s usually an illness or injury that results in such a late lineup change. But when Jensen entered the ninth inning, and was seen catching warmup pitches earlier in the game, the reporters were curious.
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Carter Jensen of the Kansas City Royals takes the field before the game against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on March 30, 2026. (Mikayla Schlosser/MLB Images)
Jensen, the Royals’ top prospect, didn’t make up an elaborate lie. He slept through his alarm and was unable to get to Kauffman Stadium in time to properly prepare for the game.
“No running from it,” Jensen told reporters via MLB.com after a 5-1 loss to the Twins. “Just didn’t wake up to my alarm. Slept through it. Don’t really have an excuse and I don’t want to. It stinks. It happens. I felt like I let my teammates down, coaches. Just learn from it and know it won’t happen again.”
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Royals manager Matt Quatraro added: “He’s a stand-up guy, a real hard worker, a great kid. He feels terrible. He’s responsible for it. It’s not something that’s been a pattern or any of that stuff. Nobody feels worse than he does, and I think he’ll admit that. And we’ll move on.”
While Quatraro took the high road when asked about Jensen, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino laid into the rookie in big-brother fashion.
“You’ve got a 36-year-old catcher preparing to DH today and then his world is kind of rocked an hour and a half before the game that he’s not going to be DH-ing,” he told reporters. “Credit to Salvy today for first of all being ready. We’re glad Carter’s OK, right? That was kind of the first thought when you’re trying to get hold of his parents and all that. But once you find out he’s OK, it’s like, ‘Okay, it’s a growing moment.’
Carter Jensen of the Kansas City Royals looks on during a game against the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Sept. 18, 2025. (Sydney Schneider/MLB Images)
“He’s really young. There are some things that can’t happen and this is one of them. He’s going to have to take it on the chin, the same way anyone would have to. It can’t happen.”
Pasquantino added that the team is “here for him,” but also thinks Jensen should probably invest in “another alarm clock or something.”
Jensen is already ahead of his teammate.
“There’s a lot to learn from that. Making sure if I don’t set one alarm, maybe set three, four, as many as possible. Moving on, that’s what I want to do. Set a million alarms. Make sure I’m up. It stinks, though.”
Carter Jensen of the Kansas City Royals walks to the circle during a spring training game against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona on March 18, 2026. (Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)
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Jensen is not only the Royals’ top prospect, but the 6-foot, 210-pound catcher is ranked No. 16 overall by MLB Pipeline in 2026.
In his six games to start the 2026 season, Jensen has two hits in 16 at-bats, including a home run and two RBI.
