The Giants have reached a cope with catcher Roberto Perez, in response to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter hyperlinks). It appears as if the Pink Sox had been the opposite finalist for Perez’s providers, as Boston “made an aggressive bid” for the veteran backstop.
The Pirates (Perez’s former staff) and Cubs had been additionally reportedly interested by Perez this winter, however the 34-year-old will as an alternative head to the Bay Space to hitch a catching combine led by Joey Bart. Whereas Bart has but to hit a lot over elements of three seasons and 408 profession plate appearances, the Giants nonetheless think about the previous high prospect, to the purpose that president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi mentioned a number of weeks in the past that the Giants would probably keep on with minor league signings for any future catching depth.
Perez joins Austin Wynns as the highest opponents for the backup catching job, plus the presence of Rule 5 Draft choose Blake Sabol is one other notable issue. As per the rules of the R5 Draft, Sabol has to stay on the Giants’ lively roster for your complete season, or else the Giants have to supply him again to the Pirates. (The Reds really chosen Sabol within the Rule 5 Draft however the Giants traded for Sabol’s rights.) Wynns was not too long ago outrighted off the Giants’ 40-man roster, and Sabol may also play the outfield, including extra wrinkles to the staff’s potential plans behind the plate.
On paper, Perez provides some definitely to the combination resulting from his sturdy protection. Lengthy identified for his glovework, game-calling, and his potential to work with pitchers, Perez is a two-time Gold Glover and Fielding Bible Award winner. This defensive play stored Perez in a minimum of a part-time position as Cleveland’s catcher from 2015-21, even when he has solely a wRC+ of 77 over 1752 profession plate appearances. Perez did surprisingly get away for a 24-homer season in 2019, although that efficiency looks like an outlier as a result of livelier baseball utilized by the league that yr.
Accidents have been Perez’s greatest challenge over the previous few seasons, as he has performed in solely 65 video games for the reason that begin of the 2021 season. (He additionally performed solely 32 video games out of 60 within the shortened 2020 season.) A fractured finger, shoulder issues, and hamstring surgical procedure have all mixed to restrict Perez’s enjoying time, together with his hamstring damage ending his Pirates tenure after solely 21 video games final yr.
The presence of Wynns and Sabol offers San Francisco some insurance coverage if the damage bug bites Perez once more, however naturally the Giants’ greatest hope is that Bart takes a step ahead as a dependable MLB starter, so the opposite backstops are relegated to pure backup roles. With Perez now on board, the Giants are in all probability carried out looking for catchers, maybe until an damage state of affairs emerges in Spring Coaching.
