Perez placed on 10-day IL with oblique strain
ST. PETERSBURG -- Before Wednesday’s game against the Diamondbacks, the Rays placed catcher Michael Perez on the 10-day injured list with right oblique soreness and recalled catcher Nick Ciuffo from Triple-A Durham.
Perez was a late scratch from Tuesday’s lineup after feeling some discomfort with his oblique during batting practice. The catcher was fully prepared to play through it, but hitting coach Chad Mottola noticed that there was something wrong with Perez and the Rays decided to sit the 26-year old catcher and get the injury checked out by team doctors.
After the game Tuesday, Perez got an MRI on the oblique and results showed that the catcher had suffered a mild oblique strain. The Rays aren’t sure of a timetable, but they’re confident they caught the injury early enough that it won’t turn into a lengthy absence.
“The [doctors] just said it was a small strain,” Perez said. “That’s the good thing. I think it’ll be two or three weeks, but I’m hoping it’ll be even less than that. It could’ve been a lot worse if I would’ve played the game. It could’ve snapped completely if I would’ve taken a couple of swings or something like that.”
Perez said that the only time he feels discomfort is when he swings the bat. He doesn’t feel any pain when he breathes or sits down on a chair, which have been the case with other oblique strains, such as Mike Zunino’s that sidelined him for some time in 2018.
The 26-year old catcher will be shut down for the next three days and will be re-evaluated over the weekend to determine when he can begin throwing and doing other baseball activities.
“Hopefully it’s a short stint [on the injured list],” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “But obliques are tricky. People that have had them in the past, they talk about how one day it grabs you in a spot and then it kind of moves.”
Zunino leaves game
Zunino was removed from Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the D-backs due to left quad tightness. The 28-year old catcher suffered the injury running down the first base line in the eighth inning on Wednesday.
Zunino initially stayed in the game after getting checked out by the trainers, but was replaced by Ciuffo to start the ninth inning.
“We’re going to check on him,” Cash said. “[The] quad kind of locked up and tightened up on him. We’ll have more and he’ll probably see a doctor tonight or tomorrow at some point.”
With Perez on the 10-day injured list, it’ll be Ciuffo getting the bulk of the starts at catcher for the Rays. If Zunino is forced to go on the injured list, Anthony Bemboom could be an option for Tampa Bay.
Pruitt recalled, Sadler optioned
Aside from placing Perez on the injured list, the Rays also recalled Austin Pruitt and optioned Casey Sadler to Triple-A Durham in order to help freshen up the bullpen.
Sadler has been a pleasant surprise for the Rays this season, posting a 0.00 ERA over 6 innings, but has not been able to stick around with the big league club. Pruitt has a 4.91 ERA in two appearances this season.
Rays set pitching plans for the weekend
The Rays will be hosting the Yankees for a three-game set at Tropicana Field, the first matchup between the two teams this season. Tampa Bay entered Wednesday with a two game lead over New York in the American League East and will look to build on the lead this weekend.
Tyler Glasnow will get the first look at the Yankees on Friday night and the right-hander will look to continue to build on his 6-0 record and AL-leading 1.47 ERA.
“My mentality [is] just going into it like any other day and just keep playing your game,” Glasnow said. “It doesn’t really matter who you’re playing. If you meet all your personal checkmarks and do what you need to do to prepare, usually you’re winning ballgames.”
The Rays don’t have a starter for Saturday night and will likely use an opener with Yonny Chirinos following, while Blake Snell will start on Sunday on six days rest.
“He’s good to go,” Cash said.