With left fielder Jonny Gomes nursing a sore right quad, the Braves called up outfielder Eury Perez from Triple-A Gwinnett to start in left field Thursday night against Boston. To open a roster spot, they returned infielder Daniel Castro to Gwinnett a day after he singled in his first major-league at-bat.
Atlanta had called Castro up to have another infielder while Andrelton Simmons rested after getting hit in the hand with a pitch Monday in Boston. Simmons was back in the starting lineup on Thursday.
Perez has appeared in 26 games in the majors with the Nationals and Yankees since 2010, hitting .174 and stealing five bases. In 60 games with Gwinnett this year, he hit .296 with two home runs, 20 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. He is batting .370 in June.
“I was very surprised with the news but I was very happy,” Perez said through an interpreter before the game. “But at the same time, I was expecting it because I’ve been working very hard to get here.”
Perez entered spring training in competition with Todd Cunningham and Eric Young Jr. for the center field job. He hit .268 and stole two bases in 14 games, while Cunningham and Young both hit over .300. Young briefly won the starting job before Atlanta landed Cameron Maybin in the Craig Kimbrel trade.
“(Perez is) a guy that’s got some major league strengths — he can run; pretty athletic guy,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said before the game. “With (Andrelton) Simmons coming back, we’ve got (Pedro) Ciriaco (to) be the utility infielder, we’ve got Kelly Johnson and Chris Johnson. And so we needed another outfielder to help us out there.”
Perez will also be Maybin’s backup center fielder, a missing component since Cunningham was sent to Gwinnett on Monday.
