Pirates Place Roberto Perez on Injured List; Select Contract of Michael Perez and DFA Sam Howard

The Pirates announced that they placed Roberto Perez on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and selected the contract of Michael Perez. To make room on the 40-man roster, Sam Howard was designated for assignment.

Roberto Perez was injured in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Reds when he was attempting to advance to third base on a base hit. In the game, Perez collected a pair of hits, continuing his strong start to the season. The Pirates will no doubt miss Perez’s services both defensively and with the bat.

After Andrew Knapp was ejected by home plate umpire Will Little, the Pirates were forced to use Josh VanMeter as their emergency catcher.

Michael Perez will begin his second stint with the Pirates after backing up Jacob Stallings a season ago. Perez has gotten of to a hot start so far with Triple-A Indianapolis, hitting .294 with a .908 OPS in eight games. He’s drawn 10 walks in 27 plate appearances, and has only struck out five times.

Howard made three appearances for the Pirates this year before being optioned to Triple-A earlier this month. The 29-year old has spent three seasons with the Pirates.