Jeffers remains out of lineup with head contusion

KANSAS CITY -- The Twins elected not to make a roster move with catcher Ryan Jeffers on Friday ahead of their 2-1 loss vs. the Royals, but the club did bring in a reinforcement, just in case.

Jeffers was removed from Thursday night’s game with what the club called a head contusion after he was hit on the mask by two foul tips.

The veteran, who has played nearly every day since Christian Vázquez was sidelined with an infection in his right shoulder, was held out of the lineup on Friday. However, he remained on the active roster for the time being.

“We’re going to continue to monitor him and see how he’s doing as the day goes on,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “I don’t have any major announcement of any kind. We’re still looking at it as if it’s a contusion. He got dinged and felt it, but didn’t come back with concussion symptoms initially. So let’s see where he is as the day goes on, and we’ll figure out more.”

With Mickey Gasper as the only other catcher on the active roster, the Twins recalled Jhonny Pereda from Triple-A St. Paul and optioned outfielder Dashawn Keirsey Jr. to St. Paul. Pereda, 29, was claimed off waivers from the Athletics in July. He’s played in 37 Major League games with the A’s and Marlins over the past two seasons and has a .308/.422/.465 line at Triple-A this year.

Pereda got the start in his first game on the roster, catching Pablo López, who was reinstated from the injured list earlier in the day. Pereda, who, like López, is from Venezuela, caught López in his last two Triple-A rehab starts before he was activated.