SURPRISE, Ariz. — After the Kansas City Royals departed for a spring training road game last month, their general manager, Dayton Moore, stayed behind at the team’s training complex to watch prospects on the back fields. It was from there, more than a decade ago, that a longtime coach, Bill Fischer, had called him excitedly to share a vision.

“Fish said, ‘I just saw the Latin version of Johnny Bench,’” Moore said, sitting in a dugout and smiling at the memory. “I said, ‘Who’s that?’ He said, ‘Salvador Perez.’ Fish recognized it right away.”

Bench may have been the greatest catcher ever, but Perez is the only other catcher to make at least six All-Star teams while winning five Gold Gloves and a World Series Most Valuable Player Award.

He is a rare modern species: a high-impact offensive catcher who plays a lot of games.

As recently as 2007, 28 players appeared in at least 95 games as a catcher. Last season that number had dwindled to 15, the fewest since the majors expanded to 30 teams in 1998. Perez did it for the sixth season in a row, but his streak will end in 2019: At the moment Moore spoke, Perez was in Los Angeles to undergo Tommy John surgery, which will cost him the season.