The Royals reinstated catcher Salvador Perez from the 10-day injured list, and optioned catcher Sebastian Rivero to Triple-A in the corresponding move. Perez missed only 11 days while recovering from a sprained left thumb suffered in the first game of a doubleheader on May 17, and the short turnaround time led the Royals to place Perez on the IL in between the two games. Speaking with The Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and other reporters, Perez said that he could be ready to resume catching duties tomorrow, as Perez will be in the DH role for today’s game with the Twins.
Following his huge 48-homer season in 2021, Perez has six homers and an underwhelming .206/.239/.397 slash line over 142 plate appearances to begin the 2022 campaign. Perez has been making some hard contact but with little to show for it, and the longtime Royals backstop hasn’t been helping his cause with one of the lowest walk rates of any hitter in the league.
More on other players coming and going from the injured list…
- The Brewers placed right-hander Luis Perdomo on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow effusion. Righty Miguel Sanchez was recalled from Triple-A to take Perdomo’s spot on the active roster. Milwaukee selected Perdomo’s contract earlier this month and he delivered a 1.74 ERA over 10 1/3 relief innings, but now faces another IL stint. Since Perdomo missed the entire 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, another elbow problem seems ominous, but Brewers manager Craig Counsell told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak and other reporters that the injury doesn’t appear to be too serious.
- The Giants reinstated left-hander Jake McGee from the 15-day injured list on Friday, though his actual return to the field was delayed by a clerical error. McGee was called into yesterday’s game during the eighth inning, except he couldn’t pitch after the Reds told the umpiring crew that McGee wasn’t listed on the Giants’ official pregame lineup card. As a result, Jose Alvarez was instead brought in to pitch, and Alvarez allowed two runs (one earned) to put the Giants into a deeper hole in an eventual 5-1 loss. While not the wildest thing to happen to the Reds and Giants on Friday, it was the latest odd twist in what has been a rough season for McGee, who posted a 9.58 ERA in 10 1/3 innings out of San Francisco’s bullpen before back tightness sidelined him on May 11.
- In another Giants move from today, the club reinstated catcher Curt Casali from the seven-day concussion IL and optioned Michael Papierski to Triple-A. Casali was thankfully able to return in a minimal amount of time after taking a foul tip off his mask during a May 20 game. This opened the door for Papierski to make his MLB debut, as the catcher appeared in five games while filling in for Casali.
