Salvador Perez under went his knee surgery today and it is expected that it will be ’12-14 weeks before he is fully recovered’. I don’t know if that includes the presumed minor league rehab assignment or not, but it looks certain that he will miss the first half or so of the season.
This is very bad news. Obviously it’s bad in that we have lost a very promising young catcher for three months, but also in that the Royals don’t really have a reliable replacement. Brayan Pena is the presumptive beneficiary, but for all his enthusiasm he is not, or at least not yet, a first choice major league catcher. He can bat fairly well (though one would not want to rely on him getting hits), but his gloveowrk is shoddy. That’s the most important aspect for me, I wouldn’t mind if he hit .200 if he was solid defensively, but he isn’t. And although he does bat okay, it isn’t near enough to compensate for the runs and bases he leaks behind the plate. Also, I have been less than impressed with his pitch-calling. He was an okay backup for someone like Jason Kendall or Matt Treanor, from whom he could learn, but I do not rate him as an everyday player. It is a huge blow.
Defensive Indifference 