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.
Wynns came to San Francisco in a trade from the Phillies last June, and hit .259/.313/.358 over 177 plate appearances in a Giants uniform. This respectable offensive performance didn’t stop the Giants from designating Wynns for assignment during the offseason, but Wynns chose to accept his outright assignment off the 40-man roster rather than test free agency.
Boy, that didn’t take long.
This one I don’t love so much.
Hope you come good, Roberto.
He lasted 16 fewer games than last year. I have a feeling Gary Sanchez will be up in the very near future
You can bet Zaidi will find a way to get Sanchez in the starting lineup before 04/15. This was probably Zaidi’s plan all along regardless whether Bart or anyone else was ahead of Sanchez.
Moved the Gary Sanchez Doomsday Clock up five minutes until midnight.
The reason the Pirates didn’t sign him this year was his propensity for getting injured
The Giants should have looked at his injury history before signing him
You think the Giants didn’t know about his injury history?
if they did know, then their decisions to sign him anyway, shows how desperate they were for a veteran catcher
They liked his defense. Low cost option.
They obviously were crossing their fingers. Roberto cashing in for the 3rd straight year.
They only search medicals on contracts 350 million and above.
They prefer dudes with sketchy medicals so they don’t actually have to pay market rate for talented players who want long term contracts. Hasn’t been much fun to be a Giants fan during the Zaidi era.
yeah and watching Bobby Evans trade away Bryan Reynolds et al was EVEN BETTER!!
The Giants bet a million dollars on a lottery ticket. Maybe Perez comes back in a couple months and gives them a decent backup or maybe he’s played his last game of the year, either way it’s not like they broke the bank
No! I am completely SHOCKED!!
Trial by fire now for Blake Sabol.
Sabol is not ready to be a major league catcher. He needs more time in the minors. Giants should return him to the Pirates.
I feel terrible for the guy. Sure doesn’t strike me as a guy who doesn’t try to stay in top shape.
Forgot Wynns was still with the organization, If he made the team before Sanchez did, I imagine Sanchez walks as soon as his opt out arrives.
Nah, I doubt it. He’s probably ramping up after missing Spring Training.
Sanchez is not ready yet. He needs some time in minors to get ready. When ready is will be called up. I think Sabol experiment will end in a few weeks. Wynns is a much better catcher.
In with the Ruff. Out with the cuff.
Dang. Was really hoping for a bounce back season. Get well soon Bebo
Completely unrelated note:
I’ve been a Pittsburgh sports fan my whole life, but I’ve never enjoyed a moment nor been as proud of Yinzer fans more than yesterday’s ovation for Andrew McCutchen. It’s so good to have him back. And of course he singles on the first pitch with tears still in his eyes.
Good to hear. He was awful to watch in Milwaukee last season. Was really disappointing.
Above average ops as a outfielder not leading off. Milwaukee either wasn’t smart enough or desperate and put him in position to fail.
Yeah, I’m well into my 5th decade as a Pirates fan and that was something. And bringing back AJ and Russell Martin to throw out the first pitch was a nice move, too
This is a funny site. You’d think that it would have generated some sort of article here, punctuated with a note about Reynolds’ red hot start. But nothing.
Such is the life of a small market fan; there are more fans in larger markets, so those fanbases have priority for coverage due to the disproportionate amount of clicks that type of coverage brings.
Example: I know hardly anybody cares about the fate of Cole Sulser out of the DBacks bullpen, but there’s been no coverage of him being injured and estimated to be gone for weeks while Luis Frias takes his place (even though the initial event happened a couple days ago).
That’s not really practical info on it’s face, but it’s info that can color perceptions of betting odds.
Small market fans are honestly better off doing their own research; media coverage just isn’t incentivized enough. Oh well, if you’re able to find reliable information? That’s a betting advantage due to the lack of familiarity industry wide.
You’re right, of course, and I think most of us old timers understand that
Guess what is striking to us is that we will get a Bryan Reynolds contract dispute almost daily but now that he’s tipping the cover off of the ball, the articles have stopped lol
You’ll have to forgive me, too
I’ve grown sick to death of watching entities like ESPN fall all over themselves in kissing the, uh, rings of guys like Brady and Gronk. If they were really interested in a feel good story, the Cutch coming home and 1st pitch from two guys who helped to resurrect baseball returning to this town was much more interesting than Kelce throwing out the first pitch in Cleveland
But you’re right. We’re small potatoes in an era of over-saturation
Sorry for the rant
Monkey’s Uncle, I’ve always rooted for the Pirates (after the Giants), because Roberto Clemente was my favorite player when I was a kid. That, and being an army brat, didn’t live in a city with a ML baseball team, until I was 13. I always liked McCutchen, and even now in his later years, when he isn’t the MVP level player that he was, seems to be an underrated contributor. I’d love to see him have a big year.
Roberto my favorite also. Many will argue that there were better players but none were more fun to watch.
Yeah, it was a different game back then, and Forbes Field was enormous. Had Roberto played in a different park the HR totals would have been higher. Not to mention the shortened career. After all he had a 138 OPS+ in his last season. There wasn’t a better fielder or arm. Living in DC in ’71, I got to see his incredible performance in the WS against Baltimore.
I really want to see Bart come back and have himself a season. It’s now or never
I saw the Perez injury on TV. It was pretty bizarre, but I knew it wasn’t good. Austin Wynns was excellent last year plus he knows the pitching staff. I am surprised no other team signed him. IMO, Bart will be back before Sanchez gets called up.
I’m happy with the Darrin Ruf signing. He was outstanding as a Giant. Hopefully he can get back to raking at Sacramento and be an option later on.
So “excellent” that he was DFA’d! Only happens to the best. Lol!
Judging a player by a DFA is a poor method of analysis. There are players that were DFA’d, or waived, that later became productive hitters, even all-stars; guys like Justin Turner, Nelson Cruz, Marlon Byrd, and Ryan Ludwick. Dave Stewart was released prior to his very successful stint with the A’s. One team’s opinion can often be wrong.
Tell ‘em tad2b13!
Would that be Forever Giant, Marlon Byrd?
Most Giants’ fans aren’t going to think much of Byrd’s 39 games of slightly above league average play one way or the other. I was referring to the 24 HRs and 138 OPS+ in 2013 after the Red Sox released him..
So much for Sabol having a chance to get returned to Pittsburgh. I hated seeing him unprotected for the Rule 5. Especially when they kept people like Ryan Vilade and Yohan Ramirez and signed Old Dick Mountain and wasted a spot.
Agree that was a surprise that he wasn’t protected. But the Giants apparently love Sabol, and I think they’d keep him on the roster regardless of whether Perez got injured or not.
Unfortunately I believe you are correct, but I was holding out hope.
Nothing wrong with that.
Roberto’s “best days” are behind him. He’s not physically capable of being your primary guy behind the plate. Good clubhouse guy and possible mentor for the kids.