Fernando Perez was probably going to have the first two weeks of the season to prove himself as an everyday major league starter. B.J. Upton, the Rays' regular center fielder who is coming off shoulder surgery, will likely need an extra few weeks after Spring Training before he's ready to come back. The speedy 25-year-old Perez was ready to step right in and take his shot. Thursday morning, however, he received some very bad news. After rolling his wrist attempting a diving catch, he dislocated it. This injury will keep him in a cast for the next six weeks. All told, Perez will miss at least the next three months.
"It's unfortunate," (Rays' manager John) Maddon said. "Obviously he's very disappointed, he's really coming on as a young player so it's difficult. But it could have been worse, obviously, so three months we can live with that. And we'll take it from there."The Rays will likely use stopgaps like Gabe Kapler, Gabe Gross, and Ben Zobrist in center field while Upton makes his way back to full health.
The Rays are a good enough and deep enough team to overcome Upton's two-week absence, and they are definitely fine to go without Perez in the short-term. The major fallout from this injury, though, is the potentially stunted development of Perez. He has some serious potential -- he hit three home runs and stole five bases in only 23 games last year. The power could have been an aberration, since his minor league career high was eight for a season, but his speed is very real. He's racked up 189 steals in just over four minor league seasons.
As a side note here, you have to love the attitude Perez brings. I really don't see how you can blame him for injuring his wrist while trying to make a diving catch. I mean, he's playing hard. Perez, however, does place the blame with himself. God bless accountability.
Perez, who said he's a big believer in, "If you get hurt, it's your fault," didn't want to let the team down, especially with CF B.J. Upton already trying to recover from offseason shoulder surgery ...You'd expect the Rays to give him more than enough time to re-discover his groove in the minors before giving him a recall. There's no reason to relegate him to bench duties in the bigs after he's already sat out for six weeks in a cast.
"I think a lot of things like that happen in life when you're really feeling good, something has got to give," Perez said. "I felt really good and was shaping up to be an exciting spring and all of that. But I learned a lesson. Its something I wont let happen again."
