CLEVELAND – Just as Roberto Perez’s bat seemed to be heating up, the Indians catcher is facing a bit of a setback.
After getting hit in the face mask with a foul ball in the third inning of Cleveland's 5-3 loss to the A’s on Tuesday night, Perez remained in the game and was able to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, but he struck out on four pitches. Kevin Plawecki replaced him behind the plate to start the fifth, and Perez was evaluated for a head injury, which revealed he suffered a concussion.
“I don’t need to play doctor, but it seems very mild,” Francona said. “Saying that, he was still diagnosed with a concussion. So we’re going to send him home tonight, get him back here tomorrow.”
The Indians want to give Perez a night to see how he responds before determining if he’ll be sent to the seven-day concussion list. If he comes in feeling better on Wednesday, there’s a chance the team will allow him to just sit for a few days without needing to make a move. But just to be sure, Cleveland is flying catcher Eric Haase in from Triple-A Columbus to be ready in case Perez goes on the seven-day concussion list.
Haase, the Indians’ No. 29 prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline, was pulled from the Clippers’ game in the middle of an at-bat in the sixth inning, shortly after Perez was taken out of Tuesday’s contest, according to Adam Jardy of The Columbus Dispatch. In 30 games for the Clippers, Haase has hit .245/.341/.564 with 11 homers, 19 RBIs and 40 strikeouts.