Pirates catcher Roberto Perez will undergo surgery on his left hamstring and miss the rest of the 2022 season, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (Twitter link). Perez was already on Pittsburgh’s 60-day injured list, and it was expected that his hamstring injury would require a long absence.
The Bucs initially placed Perez on the 10-day IL in between games of a doubleheader on May 7, after Perez injured his leg running the bases. Reports immediately filtered in that Perez (who was in obvious pain leaving the field) had suffered a serious injury, and the veteran backstop may have now already played his last game in a Pittsburgh uniform.
It marks the second straight injury-ravaged year for Perez, as he played only 44 games with Cleveland last season due to a pair of IL stints (a fractured right finger and shoulder inflammation). After the Guardians declined their $7MM club option on Perez for 2022, the Pirates inked the 33-year-old to a one-year, $5MM deal just prior to the lockout and just after the club had dealt former starting catcher Jacob Stallings to the Marlins.
A Gold Glove winner in both 2019 and 2020, Perez has long been appreciated for his excellent defense and ability to throw out would-be basestealers. He hasn’t enjoyed much success at the plate apart from a surprising 24-homer season in 2019, but Perez was off to a decent start with the Pirates, hitting .233/.333/.367 (106 wRC+) over 69 plate appearances.
With Perez now gone for the season, the Pirates will turn to a combination of Michael Perez and Tyler Heineman behind the plate. (Heineman was just claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays on Monday.) For those wondering former first overall pick Henry Davis could factor into the Pirates’ catching plans this season, Davis only just made his debut in Double-A ball, and has been himself sidelined with a left wrist contusion. Mackey reports that Davis will be examined by doctors in Pittsburgh, but initial testing hasn’t revealed any fractures.
Looks like the Bucs are stuck with waiver wire trash. No way Nutting allows Cherington to make a trade for someone on another team’s 40 man roster. And for what reason? To win 63 games instead of 61? This team and roster are an absolute joke.
This season is going to have its rough patches, everyone knew that. But at least the future looks bright and a 15-21 record could be a whole lot worse. I believe that Contreras’ service time is almost up and Oneil Cruz has started to heat up. Another good week or two from Oneil and I think he’ll be in the majors. Contreras, Quintana, Thompson, and Brubaker isn’t going to be making a playoff chase, but it’s a 70-73 win rotation. Not to mention other guys like Ji-Hwan Bae doing well who should replace VanMeter.
I love your optimism but this team has a -76 run differential, the worst in Major League Baseball. Obviously I hope your 70 win season prediction becomes a reality but I have my doubts.
I’ll be the first to admit that their RD is ugly, and by no means will I think they go for the playoffs, but they should close the gap once they get more offense here. Ji-Hwan Bae, Oneil Cruz, Mason Martin, and Cal Mitchell are a trio that we could see by mid-June. Plus let’s remember that 21 of the total runs the Pirates have given up were in that 21-0 loss against the Cubs. As ugly as that game was, that one game alone represents about 11% of the total runs the pitching staff has given up. Miguel Yajure and Aaron Fletcher alone represents 15.8% of the total ER the team has given up.
True I completely forgot about that game, for good reason I suppose.
Mitch Keller is not preforming as top of the rotation piece as predicted. Contreras can be that Keller type situation. I haven’t been overly excited about the pitching prospects right now. Most have been failures at this point. Only gem has been JT really.
I remember in 2012 the orioles had a terrible run differential, but still made the playoffs.
A 21-0 loss tends to add to a run differential.
The record is the record.
Wow….a glass half full look on todays Pirates. I agree that this year won’t be fun but next? A .500 record? Never know.
Padres can send top spec Campusano in a deal for Reynolds OF.. lets Go!
One, they don’t need Campusano with Henry and Endy. Two, you’re gonna have to include Abrams, Hassell, and Gore with Campusano.
Honestly what’s the difference? I love the Bucs but the roster assembly clearly shows that management wasn’t even trying to win this season. There are non-MLB guys all over the field and in the rotation. Josh Vanmeeter, Yoshi Tsutsugo, and Jack Swinski are starters.
Suwinski is far and away better than VanMeter and Tsutsugo. He looks like he could actually start semi-frequently, and had a 1.107 OPS at Double-A before his promotion. He’s off to a sluggish start, which shouldn’t be a surprise for a guy who didn’t spend one day at Triple-A, but there are positive signs from him so far.
Personally I like what seen and been reading on Sewinkski and he could @ worst be a 4th outfielder hopefully Mitchell will be next call up yoshi ,van meter and other spare parts need to go give 1st base to Chavis
Yes, agreed. Really difficult to understand the thinking here. Best I can surmise is that they believe bringing guys up too soon—even guys at the AAA level— can be detrimental to their overall development. So they have this odd mix of guys who are cutting their teeth here, like Hayes, Castillo, Suwinski, and fill the roster with scrap that no other team would have on the roster. Reynolds is the exception, of course
mlb and a few other guys know the minor leagues very well and have a optimistic take on what’s ahead. But most sobering to me is the idea that I’ve seen no pitcher coming up who offers even a glimpse of hope where top of rotation is concerned. Certainly not Keller. Wilson, Thompson, Brubaker—I guess it depends on how you see the glass
Hard to see this team doing any better than .500 for the next few years. And for those of us who have seen the brilliance of PNC Park, the fireworks and pierogi races, there’s not much to inspire us to buy tickets for more than a game or two
But given MLB’s current financial set-up, I don’t think ownership cares much about it anyway
It doesn’t really matter. Does Bob Nutting’s look like a guy who watches baseball? The only thing he keeps his eyes on are his bank accounts. He wouldn’t know if the next guy up is an all-star or a beer league player. And he would care even less.
I feel bad for Roberto Perez. I really enjoyed watching him and his injury is just unforunate and unlucky.
Roberto actually made a difference when he was in there, always on defense and sometimes with a big hit. Losing him will hurt.
For sure, especially considering that for now, it looks like they’re going to use patchwork behind the plate. Carter Bins, the guy they got in the Tyler Anderson trade during last year’s deadline, recently reached Triple-A, so we could possibly see him in the majors within the next month if he keeps hitting well.
Nutting is looking to see how much of Perez remaining salary is guaranteed…
I’m sure they have insurance for this
Blake Sabol hitting .320 at AA, but he can’t come up because he ?.
I’d love to see Sabol up in the majors, especially considering now that Henry is at Double-A. I’d also like to see Bins get a shot. I think what they’ll eventually do is promote Bins in the coming 1-3 weeks if he hits well, then get Sabol time at Indy.
Davis just went on the IL. Sabol is staying in AA for now. He needs to work more on his throwing. He’s a below average defender against the run.
Because turtles are even stealing second on him.
Because if a misguided devotion to a tediously rigid process of promotion one level at a time?
Such a shame but to be brutally honest he will not be that hard to replace. There are a lot of good defense no hit 4A catchers out there.
He was hitting quite well though. 106 OPS+, 105 wRC+. Might not win a silver slugger, but above league average production from a platinum glover is always icing on the cake.
He is not going to be easy to replace. You are way underestimating his talent relative to what’s out there
Feel bad for Roberto Perez…. He was going to be our bridge till Henry Davis arrives but thats not till 2024!!!!
Carter Bins is not going to be able to jump from AA to the Majors like Jack Suswinski did!
And were not in great shape in AAA
Blake Sabol is having a great season in Altoona and has ALWAYS HIT at every level. I,m not sure about his catching and throwing?????? But what do we have now….Why not give him a shot!
OH!!!! LOL I almost forgot…..Hey Mario!!! Your wrong AGAIN!!!
The Mendoza line is .200……..It has nothing to do with his lifetime avg??? LOL
Nor did he get that tag in Pittsburgh (Pirate Fans are to nice)
In 1979 he kept getting above .200 then fell below! Several times…. His Teamates in Seattle Joked about the .200 being the Mendoza Line!!!
In Baseballs Glossary it states The Mendoza Line “is a .200 batting average”
LMAO not .215
JEFF,I mightily apologize for not giving you your Just due and not capitalizing your name like the snob that you are deserves.
I never said that you and yours do not call the Mendoza line 200,for whatever reason.
It means that it is the real Mendoza average..I can call it what I want.
There are plenty of players between 200 and 215 who deserve the moniker even more.
Then again,I do not expect anyone so full of himself who has a poster name in capital letters to understand any nuance like that.
Stupid is as stupid does JEFF.Goodnight MCNIGHT!.
Personally I like what seen and been reading on Sewinkski and he could @ worst be a 4th outfielder hopefully Mitchell will be next call up yoshi ,van meter and other spare parts need to go give 1st base to Chavis
Agree…DFA both of them!
Bring up Cal Mitchell and Mason Martin
I think Cal Mitchell would require a move on the 40 man roster. One would have to be waived and/or release that is currently on the 40 man. Cole Tucker I have been supportive of a waive to open up a spot for Mitchell. Only other of candidate on the 40 man is Travis Swaggerty and he isn’t ripping apart AAA at the moment. Curious to see how long Pirates play without a legit 3rd OFer.
Yeah I would prefer suwinski at Indy and cal Mitchell up here. Tons of DFA candidates, with Cole tucker and josh vanmeter leading the way. I like suwinski so far, but just isn’t ready to be an everyday major leaguer
OMG….Were back to starting Will Crowe?????????????????????
This is why we can’t make it to .500
Time to watch Jim Mora’s Playoff Rant! Thats how far away we are!!!
I think there’s a decent chance Perez hooks back on with the Guardians next year. They will be in the market for a veteran one year catcher, and Perez is a familiar face who would help defensively. As it is both Maile and Hedges are free agents after this year. If Lavastida heats up in AAA and maybe earns a promotion this year he can be the starter next year but you’d want a defensive minded backup for him. And then at some point next year Bo Naylor would be ready.
What a waste of a signing. Guy was ok when he was here, but so injury prone. Why would you sign someone like that when you literally have NOTHING else anywhere close to ready? He was the highest paid player on the team until the season started and Hayes/Reynolds got paid. Just a complete waste of money for such a frugal bunch that loves to bemoan their situation
I think the thought was that Perez would help out their young pitchers. He’s gotten a lot of credit for how he helped in Cleveland, and Pittsburgh has notably struggled with developing pitchers with even a few high profile cases seemingly doing better outside of Pittsburgh (Archer, Cole, Taillon). If you were convinced of his ability to help pitchers, then he more than earns that money by boosting the long term value of all your young pitchers (and also possibly by helping a veteran pitcher look better for trade value purposes).
Cole. Morton. Glasnow. Three guys who all learned to pitch after leaving the Pirates and Ray Searage. Not sure how much catching had to do with it but ok
Taillon benefits from playing in front of one helluva line up, of course. I respect his perseverance but I’m not so sure he’d have been anything more than he was when he left Pittsburgh (and admittedly, I lost track of Archer)
You’re right, of course. A good catcher can make a difference. Molina certainly fits that bill and Perez was a known as a solid catcher during the Indians WS run a few years ago
But clearly, there has been some real lapse where pitcher development is concerned. Searage turned around AJ and Liriano, sure and even helped Locke have a nice, short run. But jeez, the list of guys who “found it” in other places is amazing
That said, and I said this above, there’s a great deal of work that needs to go into making this Pirates pitching staff “serviceable,” at best.
Tired-I think that Searage gets somewhat of a bad rap with the young pitchers,but it true that they rarely blossom in Pittsburgh.NH had gotten rid of some of the minor league coaches right before he was fired.Too little too late.The rap had been that Searage had wanted them all to pitch a certain way.Cole was fine his first couple of years,but injuries hampered him for a couple,and for whatever reason he did not get any better.
Morton quite frankly was always hurt.
Glasnow said that he figured out what Searage was trying to teach him when he got to Tampa.
I do think that all three benefitted more from the subsequent coaching at the ML level than in Pittsburgh.
Some teams have better pitching coaching staffs than others.
In Ray’s defense he did rejuvenate the veteran pitchers acquired like Liriano,AJ,Vasquez,and Nova.He seemed to work better with the veterans by reviewing tapes of them pitching previously.
Which brings me to Brubaker and the highly rated Keller.They have been under this new group for over two years.I see the same lack of progress that I saw in Glasnow.The Pirates have never been a pitching rich organization,although at one point they developed hitters.but in the present period a team must have at least twice the number of pitchers that used to be necessary because of the inevitable major injuries that will occur.
I share your concern for the future of the Pirates and their starting pitching staff.I will say that they have generally had a good bullpen though.And maybe they will have to start having three inning starters like the Rays have had.In any event I do think that they will relatively soon get to respectability,but don’t get your hopes up about winning any World Series.
I understand what you are saying, but he was very injury prone and at the end of the line. They had stallings who already did all that. You don’t have to trade every guy. Stallings was also about half as much. What they got back was a mediocre return for him. Next time they cry poor, remember signings like this, where 5 mil was lit on fire
Mr Mendoza
I knew how simple and uneducated you were by reading your posts!
I was polite to you.
Believe me ….you wouldn’t want me to embarrass you!
‘Thats why I post my name!
I’m willing and can back up what I say….and post!
LMAO
Jeff McKnight
MR McKNIGHT
You do not know anything about me.
Only simpletons continue to use the term LMAO.
Quite frankly,you are a very smug poster.You attack other posters by using your term LOL as if you are trifling with them.
No one else uses caps to display whatever name they want to go by.
I really do not think that you can embarrass me on this forum.It is not all that important for me in the first place.
I really do not care who you are or what your real name is.
Have a nice day jEFF.
MR MENDOZA
you are very small!
And I don’t need to embarrASS you…..you do a great job doing it yourself!!!!
Have a great life!
MY guess for a number of reasons is that you are very young Jeff and do not know how to deal with someone who calls you on what words you use.
I suggest that you be careful in this forum because you do not know who you are dealing with as many of these posters are actually bright and knowledgeable and adept at expressing themselves.
I too wish you a long and joyous life.
Mr Mendoza
Your a moron.
Very small person.
Im retired and live in Florida.
That how “young” i am.
Your an A hole!
Have a pos low life!
Bye
Mr Mendoza
Your a moron.
Very small person.
Im retired and live in Florida.
That how “young” i am.
Your an A hole!
Have a pos low life!
You take care!
Bye
I honestly thought that you were very young for a number of different reasons.You do not have that excuse for being an imbecile!
I can put up with stupid posters,homers,and knuckleheads.
I cannot stand smug idiots who try to demean other posters.
Your last rant proved it as you resort to name calling over and over again.
By the way,your use of the word “ your” is incorrect.You actually meant you’re,as in “you are”.
I will not post anymore as I am bored at this point but I do not doubt that you will.
Have a nice time in Florida.