The Rangers have selected the contract of catcher Carlos Perez after placing Hanser Alberto on the disabled list with a hamstring injury (first report: Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News). In order to make room on the 40-man roster, they’ve recalled right-hander Nick Gardewine and placed him on the 60-day DL with a forearm strain.
Perez has been waiver wire bait multiple times already this season. The Braves designated him for assignment earlier this season, which is how he ended up with Texas in the first place. While the Rangers gave him a brief look, they ultimately outrighted him to Triple-A Round Rock in order to make room for lefty reliever Joe Palumbo after he’d fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. He’s spent the past six weeks in the minors waiting for his next opportunity.
Perez has never showed much talent with the bat in the majors; indeed he’s hit just .159/.197/.238 this season. His usefulness comes more from his defensive capabilities behind the plate, where he’s been well above-average. Still, despite his pathetic numbers in the majors, he’s been fantastic at clobbering minor league pitching across the past two seasons. He owns a .316/.368/.494 at Round Rock in 2018, and while those 87 plate appearances don’t serve as a significant sample size, he managed an even better .352/.423/.502 performance in Triple-A while with the Angels organization last season. If he can realize even a semblance of that potential in the majors, he’ll be a useful major-leaguer for the Rangers.
Always thought he had more talent than any other AAAA player like Andrew Wynns, P.J Pillitere, Omir Santos… just a few contrasting examples. Never could put together the bat
Palumbo is not a reliever.