PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Fernando Perez will be sidelined for at least three months after dislocating his left wrist while diving in an attempt to catch a sinking line drive in a game against the Blue Jays.

Perez was injured Tuesday in an unsuccessful attempt to catch a drive hit by Toronto's Travis Snider. The diagnosis was not confirmed until Thursday.

"It would have been easiest if I had broken it," Perez said. "They would have put a plate in there, and I would have been back in a month. A dislocation is worse."

A 2004 Columbia University graduate, Perez was called up to the Rays last September and played in each round of the postseason. He was competing for a spot as a fifth outfielder and could have become the opening day center fielder if B.J. Upton hadn't healed fully from offseason shoulder surgery.

"If B.J. were not to be ready, he probably would have played out there in the beginning of the season," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Perez's wrist will be placed in a cast Friday. He will not be allowed to participate in baseball-related activities for six weeks.

"It's a play I make usually once a month or so," Perez said. "The whole trick to it is making sure you keep your glove from catching on the ground. My glove has never, ever caught on the ground like that. I'm using a little bit longer of a glove than I've been using, and it got caught under there, and it really surprised me."