Since calling him up last July, the Indians have told backup catcher Roberto Perez to prepare as if he was starting. With Yan Gomes out for at least the next 6-8 weeks, Perez will get his chance to prove why the Indians have faith in him.
"Losing Gomes that can be a season killer but Perez can handle this. He's strong enough to catch every day," manager Terry Francona said. "The game won't get altered by the way guys pitch and that's a big compliment to Roberto."
Considering how Gomes was helped off the field during the ninth inning of Saturday's game, a moderate MCL sprain to the right knee should be considered a fortunate result as some feared that he could have been lost for the season due to a torn ACL.
The Indians are also fortunate to have a catcher who has a track record with the pitchers. Even though Perez has been in the majors for less than a year, he caught most of them in the minors.
Perez was always considered to be a solid defensive catcher but his offense has also improved. He batted .271 in 29 games last season and homered in his first game of this season on Thursday at Houston. The offense had improved so much that there were a couple games where Francona was going to have Gomes as the designated hitter and Perez at catcher.
"I know what my role was since the beginning of spring training, but my mentality hasn't changed. I worked out every day like I was still starting and stayed in shape," Perez said.
Perez has an improved understanding of dealing with the pitchers after watching Gomes handle the staff. Francona added that there shouldn't be a huge level of adjustment because of the comfort level with everyone.
On Sunday, Perez's day was much like the Indians — frustrating. He overthrew third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall in the first when Rajai Davis stole third and scored Detroit's first run because of the error. During the eighth inning of the 8-5 loss, Perez hit a bomb to the deepest park of the ballpark that instead of a home run ended up being an RBI sacrifice fly.
While Gomes is on the DL, Brett Hayes will be called up from Triple-A Columbus to be Perez's backup. Carlos Santana was the emergency catcher on Sunday, but Francona said that was a one-time deal.
Santana said on Sunday that Gomes' injury reminded him of his own five years ago when he was involved in a plate collision with Boston's Ryan Kalish. Like Gomes, Santana had his leg extended to the plate and had it plowed into. Both plays were not dirty and are part of the game.
"I told my wife last night after that how it reminded me," Santana said. "It's hard. I told Yan that he has to be strong, go through his rehab and come back."
After opening the season by taking two of three in Houston, the weekend was a nightmare for the Tribe. Besides being swept by Detroit and outscored 25-15, there was the Gomes injury along with Michael Brantley missing the last two games due to a nagging lower back injury.
Francona is hopeful that Brantley can be back in the lineup on Tuesday when a two-game series against the White Sox begins. Ironically, both players received their Silver Slugger awards before Sunday's game.
Since the Indians swept the Tigers here in a three-game May series, Detroit has won nine of 10 games at Progressive Field, including a pair of three-game sweeps.
"I don't know what was worse, losing the three games or losing the two players," second baseman Jason Kipnis said. "Some players are going to get nicked up and we've got some guys who are more than qualified. It's hard to replace two Silver Sluggers and leaders of this team but we're going to do a pretty good job of trying."
