For Pirates, worst fears behind the plate catch up to them with injury to starter Roberto Perez

When Roberto Perez stumbled and fell while rounding second base Saturday and lay facedown in the infield dirt in Cincinnati, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ worst fears caught up to them.

The Pirates signed Perez last November after trading Jacob Stallings to Miami, replacing the 2021 NL Gold Glove winner with a two-time AL Gold Glove winner with a reputation for two things: One was his mastery behind the plate, from calling games to blocking and framing pitches to handling a young pitching staff. The other was his propensity for injuries, having played in 100 or more games only once in his eight-year major-league career.

The Pirates placed Perez on the 10-day injured list, but manager Derek Shelton said Perez is expected to miss “significant time” with a left hamstring strain that will be re-evaluated by team doctors this week. Now, they have to determine how to make up for the loss of their starting catcher.

“It’s challenging,” Shelton said. “A guy that’s an integral part of what we’re doing on the pitching side. To lose him to an injury, it’s going to be a tough blow for us.”

The absence of Perez already cost the Pirates at least one game, as they blew a 2-2 tie with the Reds in the eighth inning of the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Great American Ball Park. Backup Andrew Knapp had been ejected by home plate umpire Will Little in the sixth inning for criticizing a call from the dugout, so the Pirates were forced to use second baseman Josh VanMeter behind the plate and gave up seven runs in the bottom of the eighth in a 9-2 loss.

VanMeter said he felt “pure panic” when Perez went down, knowing that he had been designated the emergency catcher when Perez took a foul ball off his left quadriceps last month. VanMeter scrambled to find a protective cup and catching gear, which he borrowed from Knapp, and a catcher’s mitt, which he borrowed from Perez.

“It happened so fast,” VanMeter said, “then the inning was over, it felt like, and I had to be out there.”

The Pirates’ backup catcher situation has been an issue since spring training, when they conducted a three-way competition with Taylor Davis, Michael Perez and Jamie Ritchie. None of them made the Opening Day roster, and the Pirates signed Knapp instead on the eve of the season opener.

If there was a fortuitous part to Perez’s injury, it’s that the Pirates were less than two hours from their Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis. They hurried to get Michael Perez to Cincinnati for the second game of the doubleheader, and he arrived with only his catcher’s equipment and the clothes on his back.

Michael Perez started Sunday’s game against the Reds and hit a two-run home run in his first at-bat. The Pirates fared well with him behind the plate, as starter Zach Thompson allowed two hits and no walks in five scoreless innings while striking out six before the bullpen gave up seven runs over three innings in the 7-3 loss.

The Pirates knew Michael Perez had pop, as he had eight doubles, seven homers and 21 RBIs while batting .143 in 70 games as the backup last season. They designated him for assignment last fall, then re-signed him to a minor league deal this spring. In eight games at Indianapolis, Perez was batting .294 (5 for 17) with a .556 on-base percentage, thanks to drawing 10 walks against five strikeouts.

The difference will be felt mostly behind the plate. Shelton has credited Roberto Perez for his work with the pitching staff, especially his communication and in-game adjustments. Shelton repeatedly has cited Roberto Perez’s work in Cleveland with AL Cy Young winners Corey Kluber (2014, ‘17) and Shane Bieber (2020), as well as Trevor Bauer, who won the 2000 NL Cy Young with Cincinnati.

“That’s the biggest portion, just the ability to call a game, the ability to bring young pitchers along,” Shelton said. “He caught one of the best young pitching staffs in baseball in his time in Cleveland. We saw the effect on some of our younger players and the maturation that they’ve showed. It’s going to be a significant blow to us.”