The Nationals and veteran utilityman Hernan Perez are in agreement on a minor league deal that contains an invitation to Major League Spring Training, reports Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base (Twitter link). He’s repped by Octagon.
Perez, 29, spent the 2020 season in the Cubs organization but appeared in only three games and tallied just six plate appearances. Prior to that brief stint in Chicago, Perez was an oft-used utility piece with the Brewers from 2015-19, tallying 1706 plate appearances and batting .258/.288/.400.
Perez’s best season came back in 2016, when he appeared in 123 games and saw semi-regular playing time. Over 430 plate appearances, he slashed .272/.302/.428 with 13 home runs and a career-best 34 stolen bases. Perez slugged 14 long balls in 458 plate appearances the following year but saw all of his rate stats and his stolen-base total (just 13) go in the wrong direction.
The only position that Perez hasn’t played in the Majors is catcher. He’s even pitched 7 1/3 innings (six runs on 10 hits and four walks with three strikeouts), although the bulk of his work has come at third base (1241 innings), second base (966 innings) and in the outfield corners (990 innings combined). A right-handed hitter, Perez has a good bit more power against lefties but carries a sub-.300 OBP regardless of pitcher handedness. On-base shortcomings notwithstanding, he’s a versatile defender with a bit of pop in his bat and some speed, making him a decent flier for a club like the Nats that could use some depth on its bench.
Decent infielder who could be back up depending on how he does in Minors or ST
I may not care either way about this particular piece of news, but I value the professionalism here, putting together a brief but solid write-up, even for a guy who’s never really made a mark on the bigs.
he was a fairly notable bench piece in his earlier years with the Crew.
Washington Cubs alert- any former Cub welcome on Nats. All team needs is John Lackey to go on a quest for jewelry.
Another Cubs great has moved on.
Hernan can play most positions serviceably and has decent speed and occasional pop. He’s a great teammate and a good guy to have around as long as he isn’t playing too much. Counsell seemed to have him on the field way too often for someone with a very limited bat in the later years. Good luck Hernan! One of the good guys in baseball.
I wasn’t even aware he was a free agent. He was outrighted to Iowa and never applied for free agency that I can tell. There’s no transaction stating as much.
Up next: Jason Kipnis to play 2B and Albert Almora to be the 4th Outfielder
I am Puerto Rican and I lived in Milwaukee when Hernan was a regular with the Brewers. I for some reason was convinced without looking it up that Hernan Perez was also Puerto Rican. Maybe I saw him being extra chatty and smiley with Yadi during a Cards game or something. But so anyway, at every game I went to whenever he had a PA or made a good play, I would yell PUUUEERRRRTOOO RRRRRIIIIIQQQQUUUEEENNNOOO. What I did expect was to get a bunch of weird looks from the crowd. What I didn’t expect was to find out after literally 3 straight years of these outbursts….that he’s Venezuelan.
Would have been a decent stop gap for the Orioles as a SS. Really don’t know if Martin is a true starter.
Not really sure that holds true. Perez has more games at 2B and 3B than he has at SS. While he could sub there if need be i don’t know that he would be considered an everyday option.
I think the Orioles bring Villar back or roll with Valaika. Maybe sign someone like Jordy Mercer to a spring training invite to compete for the job if they decide to go with Valaika