The Pirates have signed infielder Joe Perez to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to Double-A Altoona for now.
It’s something of a birthday present for Perez, who turns 24 years old today. He quickly finds himself a new job after being released by the Astros last week. He had been on their 40-man roster until they acquired Justin Verlander, which led to Perez being designated for assignment and clearing waivers.
The ’Stros selected him in the second round of the 2017 draft but injuries and the pandemic would limit his opportunities in the years to come. By the start of 2021, he had only played in 54 games as a professional. But 2021 was something of a breakout for him, as he was finally healthy and able to thrive. He hit 18 home runs in 106 games across three different levels, going from Single-A to High-A and Double-A. His .291/.354/.495 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 125.
The Astros added him to their 40-man roster that November to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft and he went into 2022 considered the club’s #5 prospect at Baseball America and #8 at FanGraphs. He got the briefest of debuts in April of that year, striking out in one plate appearance before getting optioned back to the minors. Shortly thereafter, the injury bug bit him again, with an oblique strain putting him out of action for a couple of months. He was eventually able to get into 83 minor league games that year, hitting .290/.359/.417 for a wRC+ of 103.
Coming into this season, BA still had him ranked 13th in the Astros’ system but he hasn’t had a great year. His .255/.328/.399 Triple-A batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 74 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. FanGraphs released their Astros prospect list in June and had Perez down at #36.
Despite his subpar results this year, it’s a sensible pickup for the Pirates. Perez is not too far removed from being a top 10 prospect with Houston and missed a lot of time due to injuries and the pandemic. He’s still young and could perhaps still develop with more reps. Defensively, he’s primarily been a third baseman but has also spent time at first, second and the outfield corners. If he is able to get a roster spot, he will still have one option year remaining after this one.
maybe he can show Williams a thing or two about how not to swing at pitches 3’ off of the plate like he did in last night’s game
Those 2 pitches were so wide, he couldn’t have hit the ball with a telephone pole
It’s always next year or the year after with this franchise
Starting pitching is key but you’re not going to win many games when your hitters strike out 10+ times a game and only collect 5-7 hits
Hayes, Reynolds and Cutch are the only players who produce runs
Switching between the Bucs and Steelers games last night, I caught a few ABs from a few players
In one AB, against a lefty, Suwinski never took his bat off his shoulder, all 3 pitches thrown were clear strikes
I know he has power, the broadcasters always remind us, but he has a bad habit of going into endless slumps. With this one, he’s 6 for his last 48. And now has 125 strikeouts.
His BA is .208, and getting closer to the real Mendoza line
Williams is again in tonight’s lineup, going 8 for 39 MLB ABs with 12 strikeouts and drawing only 3 walks
How is he part of the core players management always talks about?
Keller and Oviedo can be frustrating, butJared Jones should be called up for September, Skenes by June, Contreras and Luis Ortiz may be fixable, Brubaker and Burrows are all possible for No. 4 and 5 SP. If the owner who shall not be named can add a higher end SP, maybe $20 / year for 4 years, they could compete and win 85+ Davis and Endy will be fine, Cruz returns, etc.
Nutting pay $20 per year for a free agent pitcher is a fantasy unlikely to happen in this century
They offered Keller an extension but the pitcher doesn’t want something that resembles a “ team friendly “ contract.
If they aren’t willing to pay Keller is value they definitely won’t pay a free agent pitcher the amount you suggested
Hey Joe, where ya going with that glove in your hand?
I’ve turned over a new leaf. “Shooting my old lady” would be illegal and clearly frowned upon, so I’ve decided to hire an attorney, divorce her and report to AA shortly afterwards to resume my baseball career.
He’s going to look for the Astros, because…
Looked pretty good in spring training a couple of seasons ago. Has some pop and a good glove.
Move him to 1B and see if the bat improves. I’m surprised the White Sox didn’t sign him since they’ve been signing everyone to minor league deals lately
This might be the move that puts Bucs over the top.
Funny, I didn’t see where he signed with the parent club
Keller is going after his 10th win today against the Reds. He’s been trying for this since before the AS break while his ERA is over 8 in his last 5 games
Endy has played 1st base so there’s no reason why he couldn’t catch in one game then play 1st in the second game
Against a lefty, Rivas shouldn’t be in the lineup, it should be Endy
And of course there’s Williams.
These hitters swing selection is horrible. Does Haines teach anything to these guys?
Rivas just proved my point watching strike 3 go right by him
Might as well have Suwinkski in the lineup
Two innings, Red’s pitcher already has 4 ks
Connor Joe does what he does best
strikes out looking and on a pitch in the zone
Someone has to explain how teams like the Reds who have recently picked further down in the draft can compete while our draft picks become duds
Williams allowed a hit ball to fall committing an error. Can’t field can’t hit. Yet he’s in the lineup every game
3 full innings played, Pirates have struck out 6 times and against a pitcher with an ERA of almost 7 at the start of the game
Of course it’s the usual suspects, Rivas, Jack and Williams.If the latter is part of the core, we’re in trouble
I still don’t understand why they haven’t promoted Andujar and left Rivas in the minors
And their hottest hitter isn’t even playing, Hayes
It’s not looking like Jack will never live up to his potential, he’s 6th in the league in strikeouts, and he’s 24, not as if this is his first go around in the majors
But you’re right, Cornwhisperer, he could have tried a bunt to move the runner to third, but this team apparently thinks he’ll connect into one. Where your entire premise is on hitting homers, it’s likely you’ll strike out more often than not
Reynolds is finally coming back to his early season form and the fact that Hayes didn’t start, which in my opinion, because of the pinch hit homer by Jarod, was foolish. Like Williams he has a tendency of swinging at every pitch thrown no matter its location
Keller actually pitched a pretty good game yesterday, only allowing one earned run over 6 innings. He might have earned the win had Williams not misplayed the pop up hit to him and Keller didn’t give up a homer, something he’s been doing this year
The one knock on him I have, he’s not efficient. 6 innings and 90 pitches thrown. Too many full counts on batters
Someone did try bunting in yesterday’s game, of course and as I’d expect since this coaching staff doesn’t teach the fundamentals, he bunted the 3rd pitch foul resulting in a strike out. Speaking of ks, that’s one stat these guys seem to be good at. Another 12 yesterday
Two free agent pitchers?
Whoever they can sign at for a team friendly contract
Williams doesn’t belong in the majors, in 44 ABs, he’s struck out 14 times. It wouldn’t be so bad except he only has 8 hits
I can’t believe that Shelton plays him in every game. But he has no problem with giving players like Hayes and Cutch time off
Granted Suwinski was called out on what should have been ball 4, he swung at 2 other pitches that were nowhere near the strike zone
And Rivas doesn’t belong in the majors either. He should be switched out for Andujar
While I’m ridiculing this team, Priester doesn’t belong in the majors either
playing against the worst bullpen in the majors this team of mostly misfits could score zero runs and strike out 7 times
As previously stated, Williams and Rivas are not part of the future and need sent back to Indy,
Suwinski is 6 for his last 51.. That’s an average of .112. How do you spell pathetic?
Priester also needs sent back to Indy this horrible 6 starts isn’t doing anything for his confidence.
Bring up Ortiz or Contrares, they can’t be any worse
I might come across as someone who doesn’t want Jack to succeed but that’s the furthest thing from my mind.
He’s not and not even close,this has to be a concern for management.
He’s 6th in the league in ks, with 131.
In the Mets last series Atlanta scored 36 runs over 3 games. Granted they don’t have the offense that Atlanta has but to only score 2 runs against the worst pitching staff in the majors is pitiful
And for sportswriters to say they will contend next year is ridiculous. Apparently they don’t watch what I watch
I couldn’t agree more, cornwhisperer. There’s no one in the minor league pipeline that is forecast to be the next superstar and why is that?
Player development is horrible
We’ve talked about this before, teams like Cincinnati, Baltimore, Tampa, have all picked lower in recent drafts, yet this year in particular, the Reds lose key players to injuries and seem to have someone waiting in the minors to replace them
The Bucs lose key pitchers and who do they have as replacements?
Bido and Priester.
They trade Santana and Choi, both first base basemen
Who replaces them?
Connor Joe and Rivas, both retreads
Cruz is lost for several months to injury and his replacement has been Marcano who didn’t meet the hype that he was given and Williams who can’t hit his weight
On the positive side of tonight’s game, Williams isn’t starting,on the negative side, Endy isn’t starting but Joe is
Joe who struck out three times in last night’s game and he’s batting clean up. The player with the worst average with runners in scoring position is batting 4th
If Endy’s part of the future core he should be playing first base and in the lineup every game, whether at 1st or at catcher
It’s no wonder they lose games
Palacios isn’t part of the future either yet he’s playing against a lefty and struck out with the bases loaded
Again where’s Andujar?
Shelton is no doubt the worst manager in baseball and anymore I can’t stand listening to him speak. He always has a lame excuse for why they lost.
Peguerro has been hitting the ball well lately, why is he batting after Davis who’s been struggling?
And how is Endy ever going to show what he can do against lefties if he’s benched for losers like Joe?
Falter had only thrown 82 pitches and had only given up one run when mastermind Shelton pulled him for Selby who like Priester was, he’s out of his element in the majors and almost blew the game for us
Suwinski added another strikeout to his total for the season, now at 132 and after Reynolds tripled no one could drive him in
I question Shelton’s decisions all the time and last night’s game is no different
Williams is 0 for his last 12 ABs with 7ks, Rivas is 0 for his last 13 ABs with 6ks
Williams reminds me more of Josh Van Meter but can field the ball than Clint Barnes. We have enough good fielders, this is a team that lacks offensive depth. He obviously doesn’t provide any.
Joe is not part of the future either
Triolo had a hit last night with an RBI and isn’t starting
Davis should be behind the plate and as you said, cornwhisperer, Endy at first
The supposed core of this franchise are being manipulated by a worthless manager
You ask which Oviedo we’ll see? One that we’ve come to expect. Giving up a homer, a double, 2 walks, a balk and a two run single, I’d say he won’t last long
Suwinski is 3 for his last 39 ABs with 21kd yet he bats cleanup in every game and hasn’t hit a home run yet in the month of August
If not for Hayes and Reynolds we wouldn’t be on the scoreboard so far in this game
And Rivas isn’t any good either
Rivas makes me long to have Carlos Santana back both at the plate and at first base. He struck out 3 times today and totally missed a grounder by falling to place his glove closer to the ground. Santana is a very good fielding first baseman which led to a run
Needing base runners, Shelton allowed Suwinski to bat against a lefty when he should have used Davis as a pinch hitter
Coming into this series, the Mets bullpen had an ERA of over 8 yet the Bucs made them look like that stat was an anomaly
Every time I hear one of these announcers claim that Suwinski never swings at bad pitches I want to throw something at the television
Propaganda and fantasies of being competitive next year is pure comedy
When Joe Block announces the telecast I turn the volume down just enough
The fact that he’s not even from the area, and is a carpetbagger I dislike him even more.
Going into tonight’s game, they still haven’t activated Bae from the IL as he’s been in Indy on a rehab assignment and can be promoted at any time
Instead they keep worthless Rivas who offers nothing in terms of offense and is a questionable fielder at first
Bae is activated from the IL which is officially a transaction and it’s not listed on this site.
Suwinski’s 2ks in last night’s game gives him 134 on the season and is now 6 for his last 42 plate appearances with 20ks
Endy has proven he can play on a regular basis and should be batting ahead of both Davis and Jack. Jack struck out with runners in scoring position yesterday and could have given the team the lead in the first inning
As a team they struck out 13 times. Is this a reflection on the players or management?
There has been 4 separate transactions since this signing and none have been reported on this site
They’re currently being no hit and shut out by a 35 year old has been. I’m surprised Suwinski isn’t playing against a lefty since Shelton using him so often
As a life long pirate fan. 59 out of my 67 years. I find it hard to follow the pirates as long as the idiot manages this team. He’s no more than a minor league coach. He’s a detriment to the pirates. If they don’t fire this moron, I will not follow my pirates.