11:30am: Quatraro tells Anne Rogers of MLB.com that further testing revealed Perez does indeed have a mild concussion.
10:25am: The Royals announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Tyler Cropley. He will take the active roster spot of Salvador Perez, who has been placed on the seven-day concussion list, retroactive to September 17. To open a spot on the 40-man, catcher Freddy Fermin was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Perez departed Saturday’s game after being struck in the mask by a foul ball. The Royals later announced that he had avoided a concussion, with manager Matt Quatraro saying that the backstop “got his bell rung a little bit” but felt fine after the game. It now seems that either the situation has changed or the club is merely deciding to be cautious in the late stages of a lost season.
The club will now be without its two primary catchers from this season, at least for a few games, as Fermin suffered a fracture of his right middle finger earlier this month. He underwent surgery last week and is done for the season, making his transfer to the 60-day injured list an expected formality.
With Perez and Fermin both unavailable, Cropley will get back to the majors. He was briefly selected to the club’s roster earlier this month when Fermin suffered his injury but he was designated for assignment a few days later, without getting into a game, when Logan Porter was promoted. He cleared waivers and was outrighted, allowing him to rejoin the roster today. At least for the time being, it seems as though Porter and Cropley will be sharing the catching duties.
Aside from that brief time on the big league roster, Cropley has split his time between Double-A and Triple-A this year. He has walked in 11.5% of his plate appearances and hit a combined .233/.329/.367 for a wRC+ of 87. He’ll make his major league debut as soon as he is put into a game.
Freddy Fermin is related to Felix (that’s his daddy!) and you were wondering.
Baseball Ref doesn’t list that as a familial relationship.
Oops. Andy Fermin.
bdtonline.com/sports/local_sports/family-genes-ben…
Why do teams mess around with trying to get a Catching prospect who can hit to play another position? The Royals messed up MJ Melendez and the Pirates are in the process of ruining Henry Davis when either could have been sold high when they were still primarily Catchers in exchange for some pitching
Is Melendez not capable of catching at all anymore?
They’ll likely have to move him behind the plate again next year because he’s an awful fielder. They’re probably just trying to delay that
Salvador Perez is a true legend. Really believe he is the Captain of all captains right now. He could probably be a player-manager.
Hope he feels better and can get back out there before the season’s over.