Perez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays due to a sore left elbow, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
The severity of Perez's elbow injury isn't fully known, though the Royals were concerned enough to keep him on the bench Thursday and call up Luke Maile from Triple-A Omaha to provide an extra option at catcher behind Carter Jensen. Perez will exit the lineup for the first time since June 11, ending a stretch of 18 consecutive starts during which he slashed an ugly .216/.227/.311 with one home run, four RBI and seven runs.