Jhonny

Pereda

We still have yet to receive word on exactly what’s ailing Raleigh, other than “general soreness”, though he did undergo an MRI exam after being scratched from the lineup on Saturday. Jhonny Pereda will start in his place behind the dish and will bat eighth for the M’s against Kris Bubic and the Royals on Sunday afternoon in Seattle.

Pereda will help out behind the plate with Cal Raleigh apparently injured. The 30-year-old was hitting .333/.418/.436 in 92 plate appearances for Tacoma.

Pereda was designated for assignment by the Twins last week. The 29-year-old will go into spring training as a depth piece behind Cal Raleigh and Andrew Knizner.

Pereda is off the 40-man roster with the signings of Victor Caratini and Tyler Rogers now official. Pereda is just a depth piece, but teams are always looking for catching so there could be interest on the wire.

Pereda will remain with Minnesota on their taxi squad for the final few days of the regular season with starting backstop Ryan Jeffers back from the concussion injured list.

Jeffers heads to the injured list following a two-game absence after taking a foul ball to the catcher’s mask during Thursday’s game. There is no timetable for his return at the moment. Jhonny Pereda and Mickey Gasper will handle the catching duties for Minnesota for the foreseeable future.

With Ryan Jeffers dealing with a head injury (though not yet placed on the injured list), Pereda will join the team and add depth behind the plate. He’ll start behind the dish and catch for Pablo Lopez on Friday evening against the Royals.

The Twins are apparently content with Mickey Gasper as their backup catcher in Christian Vázquez’s absence. He was picked over Pereda to start Sunday’s game, which is the only one Ryan Jeffers hasn’t caught since Vázquez went on the IL. Pereda didn’t even get into a game in his four days with the team.

Pereda, 29, will take the roster spot of Christian Vázquez after Vázquez was placed on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder infection. The veteran catcher will be the backup backstop to Ryan Jeffers while Vázquez is unavailable.

Jhonny Pereda will be called up to take over as Ryan Jeffers’ backup for however long Vázquez is sidelined.