The Giants placed catcher Roberto Perez on the 60-day injured list due to a right rotator cuff strain. Austin Wynns’ contract was selected from Triple-A to take the vacancy behind the plate, and Perez’s placement on the 60-day IL automatically created an open 40-man roster spot for Wynns. San Francisco also officially announced the signing of first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf to a minor league deal, after news broke earlier today of Ruf’s return to the organization.
It’s another tough injury setback for Perez, who played only 21 games with Pittsburgh last season due to hamstring surgery, and 44 games with Cleveland in 2021 due to right shoulder inflammation and a fractured right ring finger (the latter injury also resulted in a 60-day IL stint). Perez had to make an early exit from yesterday’s game with what was initially described by the Giants as a shoulder strain, and now the 34-year-old backstop is facing another significant absence.
Perez’s abbreviated 2022 season meant he had to settle for a minor league deal this winter, but there wasn’t much doubt that San Francisco would select his contract (and lock in a $2.5MM guaranteed salary) sooner rather than later. As it happened, Perez made the Opening Day roster, but his injury now adds more uncertainty to what has already been an unsettled catching situation for the Giants.
Wynns and Rule 5 pick Blake Sabol are currently the only catchers on the active roster, though Sabol has also been used as an outfielder to help fill in for other injured players (such as Mitch Haniger and Austin Slater). With Ruf now in the picture, Sabol might return to more of a strict catching role for the time being, though the mix might get shuffled again when Joey Bart is activated from the 10-day IL. The Giants announced today that Bart was starting a Triple-A rehab assignment, so he could be returning from his back strain in relatively short order. San Francisco also recently signed Gary Sanchez to a minor league contract, and the former All-Star also figures to factor into the MLB roster at some point.
More to come…
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