Cleveland Indians: Pitching staff to face test without Roberto Perez

Cleveland Indians pitching staff to face test without Roberto Perez

Earlier in the season I wrote about how Roberto Perez might be the unsung hero of the Cleveland Indians, being the one constant factor among a near complete top to bottom change in the starting rotation over the last few seasons. With Perez sustaining an injury, the Tribe pitching staff, as well as the team as whole, might see just how valuable Perez is for the team behind the plate.

For those that might not know, Perez underwent surgery for a finger injury and is looking at an 8-10 week recovery window. So far this season, Perez has been the Tribe’s backstop in 19 of the team’s first 31 games. Over that time, he’s slashing .131/.275/.295 with three home runs and nine RBI while maintaining a .989 fielding percentage.

However, the best strength of Perez is something that doesn’t go on a stat sheet. His ability to work through a lineup through a game and think through each at bat has given the Tribe’s pitchers a clear advantage. While we can look at stats and get a grasp for how Austin Hedges and Rene Rivera will fill the spot in terms of batting statistics and fielding percentage, we can’t really know for sure if they can work through a game until we see it in action.

The good news is that early indications have been positive. Rivera caught the series finale against the Kansas City Royals, which was a shutout. As for Hedges, he caught on Friday night against Cincinnati, a game that was a shutout into the ninth for the Cleveland Indians.

As a team, the Tribe’s pitching staff entered Friday’s contest with a 3.51 ERA, good for eighth in the league. They were also tied for ninth in shutouts, ninth in WHIP, seventh in strikeouts and fourth in saves. As for individual stats, both Shane Bieber and Aaron Civale have been impressive in nearly every start while Zach Plesac and Triston McKenzie have started to hit their groove as well. In fact, Bieber is currently leading baseball in strikeouts with 77, 11 more than the next pitcher on the list.

As we said, one constant across all the pitching success in Cleveland has been Perez. With him now sidelined for what will probably be at least two months, the pitching staff will have the chance to prove themselves as a unit. Being such a young group, this could be a very telling few months for where they are individually rather than as a battery.

In terms of the catcher position, Hedges and Rivera should be able to keep the train rolling when it comes to offensive production and fielding ability. Behind Perez, Hedges is regarded as one of the better defensive catchers in the game with a career .989 fielding percentage and just two errors since the start of the 2020 campaign. As for Rivera, he’s been a journeyman since breaking into the league in 2004, but has a .992 fielding percentage with his last major league error being back in 2018. Granted, he’s only played 10 major league games between 2019, 2020 and 2021.

At the plate, there’s some reason for concern but oftentimes any offensive production from the catcher position is a bonus. Hedges entered the game against Cincinnati with a slash line of .118/.189/.294 and his career numbers aren’t much better with a sub.-.200 career batting average.

As for Rivera, he’s been a bit better at the plate with a .222/.273/.355 slash line with 41 career home runs. He will undoubtedly be the better offensive option, especially seeing him pinch hit for Hedges against Cincinnati on Friday. He also had a strong Cleveland debut, going 3-for-4 against the Royals with a double that was nearly a home run.

Time will tell if the Tribe will be able to replace Perez statistically with Hedges and Rivera, but being the replacements when it comes to things that don’t go on the stat sheet will be difficult. If anything, this will be a true test for the starting rotation of the Cleveland Indians, a young group with something to prove. We know this pitching unit is one of the best in the game when it comes to the art of pitching, but now they will have to take on more of the mental burden throughout the game that is normally taken care of by Perez behind the dish.