Report: SF Giants beat out Red Sox to sign Gold Glove winning catcher Roberto Pérez
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The SF Giants have agreed to a contract with former Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Guardians catcher Roberto Pérez, according to a report by Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Per Cotillo, the Boston Red Sox made an aggressive pursuit of Pérez but lost out to San Francisco.
Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Roberto Pérez (55) runs the bases. (2022)
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
A nine-year MLB veteran, Pérez has a reputation as an excellent defensive catcher and won back-to-back Gold Gloves in 2019 and 2020 with the Cleveland Guardians, the lone seasons in his career where he has appeared in at least half of his team's games. A right-handed hitter, Pérez has always been limited offensively and is a career .207/.298/.360 hitter.
A native of Puerto Rico, Pérez was drafted by the Guardians in the 33rd round of the 2008 draft and slowly climbed the minor-league ranks, making his big-league debut in 2014. Pérez's defensive acumen immediately solidified himself as Cleveland's backup catcher, a position he held until 2019, when he became manager Terry Francona's primary option.
Pérez had a career year in 2019, hitting 24 home runs with a .239/.321/.452 triple-slash in 119 games. However, ever since, Pérez has regressed into an abysmal producer at the plate. He hit .156/.253/.277 in 76 games from 2020-21 before signing a one-year deal with the Pirates last offseason.
In his lone season in Pittsburgh, Pérez showed some promise at the plate, hitting .233/.333/.367 in 69 plate appearances before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury. Despite his improved line, however, Pérez struck out in 36.2% of his trips to the plate, suggesting he probably benefitted from good batted-ball luck.
Roberto Pérez recently turned 34 years old and will likely join Blake Sabol and Austin Wynns in a preseason competition to be the SF Giants backup catcher behind Joey Bart. Pérez is easily the most proven option of the group, but Wynns had his moments as Bart's backup at the end of last season, and Sabol is an intriguing prospect with some intriguing offensive upside.
