Cleveland has selected the contract of veteran catcher Wilson Ramos, according to Mandy Bell of MLB.com. Starting backstop Roberto Pérez is landing on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Cleveland already has three openings on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was needed in that regard.
Ramos opened the season with the division-rival Tigers after signing a one-year deal over the offseason. He got off to a strong start, but his bat faded after the season’s first couple of weeks. Ultimately, Ramos hit .200/.238/.392 across 128 plate appearances for Detroit before missing more than a month with a lumbar spine strain. Upon his activation from the injured list, the Tigers designated Ramos for assignment and subsequently released him. He hooked on with Cleveland on a minor league deal not long thereafter.
The two-time All-Star played his way back into the majors (ironically beginning with this weekend’s series against Detroit) with a strong performance for Cleveland's top affiliate in Columbus. Ramos has taken 62 trips to the dish with the Clippers and posted a .317/.328/.517 line. He’s drawn only one walk in that time, but he’s also popped three home runs and gone down on strikes on only six occasions. Ramos will offer a bat-first backup option behind defensive specialist Austin Hedges while Pérez is out.
Cleveland didn’t provide a timetable for Pérez’s return. This will be his second IL stint of the season, as the 32-year-old also missed 60 days with a finger fracture on his right hand between May and July. Over the course of the year, he’s hitting just .136/.246/.318.
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