Detroit Tigers send catcher Grayson Greiner to injured list, release Franklin Perez

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The Detroit Tigers sent catcher Grayson Greiner to the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left hamstring strain, the team announced. He suffered the injury in the fifth inning of Tuesday's 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park.

To fill Greiner's spot, the Tigers recalled catcher Eric Haase, who also plays left field, from Triple-A Toledo. Because Haase needed to be added to the 40-man roster, right-hander Franklin Perez — from the 2017 Justin Verlander trade — was placed on unconditional release waivers to make room for him.

Assuming Perez clears waivers, it would make sense for the Tigers to re-sign the 23-year-old to a minor-league contract. That means Perez would stay with the organization throughout his rehabilitation process. He is undergoing shoulder surgery Wednesday in Los Angeles.

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Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner catches a foul ball in the fourth inning of the 5-2 win over the Pirates in Game 2 of the doubleheader on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, at Comerica Park.
Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner catches a foul ball in the fourth inning of the 5-2 win over the Pirates in Game 2 of the doubleheader on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, at Comerica Park.

Manager AJ Hinch is without the starting and backup catchers he brought to the majors out of spring training, as Wilson Ramos isn't expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list until Monday. He is recovering from a lumbar spine strain.

That leaves recent call-ups Jake Rogers and Haase — combining for 63 career games in the majors — as the team's catchers until Ramos returns. Rogers, 26, pinch-hit for Greiner in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Royals.

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Greiner has a career-best .237 batting average through 14 games. He has one home run, five RBIs, one walk and 16 strikeouts. And the 28-year-old is the primary catcher for rookie right-hander Casey Mize because of their pitcher-catcher relationship dating to spring training.

He entered the season as the team's backup catcher. Hinch does not believe Greiner's hamstring injury will force him to miss significant time.

"It's just really hard at that position, especially a lower extremity injury," Hinch said after Tuesday's game. "I don't think it's that bad, but I think it's going to be bad enough for us to consider a roster move."

Detroit Tigers' Eric Haase during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida on March 10, 2021.
Detroit Tigers' Eric Haase during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida on March 10, 2021.

Haase is 6-for-17 (.353) with two doubles, three RBIs, three walks and eight strikeouts in five games for Triple-A Toledo. He has three starts in left field and two starts at catcher. He played seven games for the Tigers in 2020, going 3-for-17 (.176) with two RBIs, one walk and six strikeouts.

Across parts of three seasons, Haase has 26 games of MLB experience. He is a career .122 hitter with one home run. Haase excelled in spring training this year, as he has for the past three years, with a .368 batting average, three home runs and seven RBIs in 18 contests.

The other catcher in Toledo worthy of a call-up is Dustin Garneau, but he is on the injured list with a broken wrist. The 33-year-old has played 140 career games in the majors across parts of six seasons for five teams. He signed a minor-league deal with the Tigers this offseason.

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Since the Tigers acquired Perez in 2017, he has only pitched nine games and 27 innings because of numerous injuries. He was supposed to pitch for High-A West Michigan in 2021 but opened the year on the injured list with a right shoulder capsule defect.

Further tests showed Perez required right shoulder surgery.

In five minor league seasons, Perez has a 3.56 ERA and 1.239 WHIP in 230 innings across 59 games (45 starts). He logged a 2.35 ERA in 7⅔ innings in 2019, and he finished with a 6.52 ERA in 19⅓ innings in 2018.

Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers Grayson Greiner injured list; Franklin Perez released