The Indians will be without catcher Yan Gomes for the next month or two.
Gomes was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Monday with an AC joint separation in his shoulder. He’s expected to miss 4-to-8 weeks.
Gomes became tangled running to first base in Sunday’s game in Minnesota and came down on his right shoulder. He had to be carted off the field.
The good news for the Indians is that his knee, which appeared to be twisted when he stepped on first base, checked out fine. It also appears as though he will avoid surgery.
Gomes has had an abysmal season at the plate, hitting .165 with eight home runs and 32 RBI. Recently, he had run into a wall of bad luck, lining out multiple times in Minnesota despite making hard contact.
Although he wasn’t giving the Indians anything offensively, his work behind the plate and with the pitching staff had been a valued asset.
In his place, the Indians activated catcher Roberto Perez from the 60-day disabled list. Perez has been out with a broken right thumb since he injured it April 30 and underwent surgery on May 6. Perez could likely start for many teams and his presence as the backup has been thought of as a quality insurance policy. That will now be put into place as it was last season when Gomes hurt his knee early in 2015.
Perez and Chris Gimenez will handle the catching duties with Gomes on the disabled list.
The club also called up left-handed reliever Kyle Crockett and sent pitcher Cody Anderson back to Triple-A Columbus.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ