Yan Gomes Injury: Updates on Indians Catcher's Knee and Return

Yan Gomes left the April 11 game against the Detroit Tigers with what was later diagnosed as an MCL sprain after a collision at the plate with Rajai Davis. The Indians placed Gomes on the disabled list as he recovers.

Continue for updates.

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Gomes Out 6-8 Weeks with MCL Sprain

Sunday, April 12

The Indians confirmed that Gomes suffered an MCL sprain and will miss six to eight weeks.

Gomes was injured on a J.D. Martinez grounder during the ninth inning, when he had a foot on the plate to get Rajai Davis out at home. As Davis slid to beat the throw, he collided with Gomes' foot, which resulted in the knee sprain. The Indians placed Gomes on the disabled list for the second time in his career as they evaluate the extent of the injury.

Losing Gomes for extended time is a catastrophic blow to Cleveland's playoff hopes, something manager Terry Francona touched on, per August Fagerstrom of MLB.com:

Last year, he was the second-most valuable Indians player, posting a 4.6 WAR, per FanGraphs. Only two catchers across the league had a higher WAR, while Gomes' 21 home runs and 74 RBI were third among qualified catchers.

Roberto Perez, who had 99 major league plate appearances to his name entering Sunday, will be Gomes' immediate replacement. He has hit .281 with two home runs and six RBI over his two-year career. The drop-off between him and Gomes is rather stark.

Francona also spoke about Perez prior to Sunday's game, per Fagerstrom:

Fagerstrom also weighed in on Perez's ability behind the plate and what fans can expect from Gomes' replacement:

With Gomes' injury keeping him out of the lineup, the Indians could be in serious trouble, and it's only April.