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Michael Perez

Mariners Release Michael Perez

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The Mariners released veteran catcher Michael Perez, who’s been playing with their Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, per Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto. His release clears way for Seby Zavala, who’s returning to the Rainiers after clearing outright waivers. Zavala and Michael Papierski will handle catching duties in Tacoma and stand as experienced depth options behind Cal Raleigh and Mitch Garver.

Perez, 31, came to the Mariners alongside reliever Mike Baumann in a small trade sending minor league catcher Blake Hunt to Baltimore earlier this season. Perez has played in parts of six big league seasons between the Rays, Pirates and Mets. He’s a career .179/.248/.306 hitter in 599 trips to the plate. It’s a well below-average line (48% worse, by measure of wRC+), but Perez grades out quite well in terms of his throwing and blocking. He boasts a career 29% caught-stealing rate, and Statcast credits him as one of the game’s best blocking catchers on a rate basis. He’s typically drawn negative framing grades, however.

While Perez has struggled in Triple-A this season and last, he’s also had plenty of success at the level. In parts of six Triple-A campaigns, the lefty-swinging backstop is a .236/.324/.405 hitter with 36 homers, 31 doubles and a pair of triples in 975 plate appearances. He’ll head back to the open market in search of a new opportunity and should latch on with a club lacking catching depth — particularly if said club is seeking a glove-first option to stash in the upper minors.

Mariners Acquire Mike Baumann

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May 23: Baumann reported to the Mariners’ roster today. The team announced that right-hander Cody Bolton has been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to open a spot on the 26-man roster.

May 22: The Orioles and Mariners announced a trade late Wednesday evening. Seattle acquired reliever Mike Baumann and catcher Michael Pérez in exchange for younger catcher Blake Hunt, whom the O’s have optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Baltimore had designated Baumann for assignment over the weekend. Hunt and Baumann will each occupy spots on their new teams’ 40-man rosters. Pérez was on a minor league contract and will not assume a 40-man spot. Seattle’s roster is at capacity, while the O’s count is up to 39.

Baumann changes teams for the first time in his career. Baltimore drafted the right-hander in the third round back in 2017. A starting pitcher for most of his minor league tenure, he kicked to the bullpen in 2022. Baumann has turned in solid results over the past couple seasons. He tossed a career-high 64 2/3 innings of 3.76 ERA ball last season and has allowed 3.44 earned runs per nine through 17 appearances this year.

While Baumann’s run prevention marks have been good, his strikeout and walk profile is middling. He had a league average 22.3% strikeout percentage with a lofty 12.1% walk rate in 2023. His strikeout rate is down to 19.5% over 18 1/3 innings this season, while his 11% walk percentage remains higher than average. Baumann’s 9.9% swinging strike rate is a couple points below the league mark for relievers.

That certainly contributed to Baltimore’s decision to DFA him, but the more immediate driver was a lack of roster flexibility. Baumann is out of options, so the O’s couldn’t send him to the minors. He was one of six Baltimore relievers who can’t be optioned, and two who can be sent down (Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin) have been far too valuable to take out of the MLB bullpen.

Seattle has four out-of-options relievers of their own, but they can send down one of Eduard Bazardo or Cody Bolton to plug Baumann into the bullpen. Despite lacking huge swing-and-miss tallies, he should deepen their middle relief group. The Jacksonville product has induced ground-balls at a solid 46.4% clip. He averages north of 96 MPH on his fastball and mixes in a knuckle-curve and slider with regularity. Baumann has between one and two years of major league service. He’s controllable for four seasons beyond the current campaign and won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2025-26 offseason.

The Mariners liked Baumann enough to part with Hunt, who is a more intriguing player than teams typically land for someone they’d designated for assignment. A former second-round pick of the Padres, he went to the Rays as part of the Blake Snell blockbuster. Hunt topped out at Triple-A in the Tampa Bay farm system. Despite a .256/.331/.484 showing in 2023, the Rays decided not to add him to their 40-man roster last fall. Rather than watch him depart for nothing in minor league free agency, Tampa Bay flipped him to Seattle for recent draftee Tatem Levins.

Seattle added Hunt to the 40-man to keep him in the organization. The 25-year-old has spent the season in Triple-A Tacoma, where he’s out to an excellent .293/.372/.533 start in 86 plate appearances. Hunt has already connected on four homers while striking out in only 11.6% of his trips to the plate. He slots in behind Adley Rutschman and James McCann on the organizational depth chart. There’s a chance Hunt makes his MLB debut at some point this year. Even if he spends the rest of the season in Norfolk, he could compete for next year’s backup catching job if the Orioles let McCann depart in free agency.

Pérez is a 31-year-old journeyman who signed a minor league deal with Baltimore over the offseason. He’s hitting .221/.294/.325 over 21 games in Norfolk. Pérez has appeared in parts of six MLB campaigns and owns a .179/.248/.306 slash at the highest level. Including him in the deal allows Seattle to send an experienced, glove-first veteran to Tacoma after Hunt’s departure. He’s behind Cal Raleigh and Seby Zavala on the organizational depth chart.

Orioles Sign Michael Perez, Albert Suarez To Minor League Deals

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The Orioles announced seven minor league deals this afternoon, with catcher Michael Perez and right-hander Albert Suarez standing out as the only two with previous major league experience.

Perez, was a fifth-round pick by the Diamondbacks in the 2011 draft but didn’t make his major league debut until 2018 as a member of the Rays. Perez spent three seasons in Tampa backing up Wilson Ramos and, later, Mike Zunino. Those three seasons saw Perez get into just 84 games total, where he slashed a meager .221/.286/.314 in 228 trips to the plate. That weak performance eventually led the club to designate Perez for assignment as they sought to revamp their catching corps following their AL pennant-winning 2020 season.

Perez then returned to the NL to serve as the backup to Jacob Stallings in Pittsburgh for the 2021 season after being claimed off waivers from the Rays. While Perez appeared in a career-high 70 games for the Pirates in 2021, he only managed an anemic .143/.221/.290 slash line in 231 plate appearances. Despite that weak performance, Perez remained with Pittsburgh to start the 2022 season before eventually being traded to the Mets just before the trade deadline that summer.

The Mets eventually designated Perez for assignment in October before reuniting with him on a minor league deal later in the offseason. Perez then managed to secure a spot on the 40-man roster back in May following the placements of Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido on the injured list, but the veteran journeyman appeared in just three games for the Mets throughout the year, as he spent most of his 2023 campaign at the Triple-A level. The Mets ultimately outrighted Perez off the roster when the offseason arrived, and he departed for minor league free agency.

Now in Baltimore, Perez figures to act as non-roster depth for the Orioles behind the club’s catching tandem of Adley Rutschman and James McCann alongside fellow minor league signing David Banuelos, who has no major league experience but slashed an impressive .270/.369/.526 at the Double-A level for the Twins last year.

As for Suarez, the 34-year-old right-hander last appeared in the major leagues in 2017 as a member of the Giants. For his career, the righty sports a 4.51 ERA and 4.40 FIP across 115 2/3 innings of work in the majors. Since then, Suarez briefly appeared with the Diamondbacks at the Triple-A level before trying his luck overseas. The righty managed a 3.00 ERA in 162 innings of work in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball before moving on to the Korea Baseball Organization, where he pitched for the Samsung Lions for two years. In that time, Suarez appeared in 49 games for the Lions, 48 of them starts. The righty struck out 19.4% of batters faced while posting a 3.04 ERA in 281 2/3 innings of work for the Lions before ultimately being released to make room for right-hander Taylor Widener back in August.

After half a decade overseas, Suarez is now returning to stateside ball as a member of the Orioles organization, where he figures to serve as non-roster pitching depth who could pitch both out of the rotation or in the bullpen. It’s a role he shares with Tucker Davidson, who the club outrighted to the minor leagues earlier this offseason. Suarez figures to compete alongside the likes of Davidson, Mike Baumann, and Bruce Zimmermann for a role on the big league club this spring.

Five Mets Elect Free Agency

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The Mets announced this afternoon that five players — infielders Jonathan Araúz and Danny Mendick, outfielder Rafael Ortega, catcher Michael Pérez and right-hander Vinny Nittoli — went unclaimed on outright waivers. All five players declared minor league free agency. The Mets had waived that group along with left-hander Anthony Kay, claimed by Oakland, last week.

It’s not surprising to see any of the others go unclaimed. Only Mendick held a spot on the 40-man roster for the entire season. The righty-hitting utilityman had signed a $1MM free agent deal after being non-tendered by the White Sox. He spent the bulk of the season on optional assignment to Triple-A Syracuse, where he had a decent .282/.369/.424 batting line. Mendick didn’t produce much in a limited MLB look, hitting .185/.232/.277 in 35 games.

Ortega has the most MLB experience of the group. The lefty-swinging outfielder has appeared for six teams over a seven-season big league run. He topped 100 games with the Cubs in both 2021 and ’22, operating as their starting center fielder and leadoff man for a time. The 32-year-old played most of this past season in Triple-A, hitting .228/.352/.388. He got into 47 games for New York late in the year, running a .219/.341/.272 line over 136 trips.

Pérez has played in nine games for the Mets over the last two seasons. The depth catcher owns a .179/.248/.306 line in 599 career plate appearances between the Rays, Pirates and Mets. Araúz has played parts of four seasons between the Red Sox, Orioles and Mets. The switch-hitting infielder owns a .184/.253/.308 slash in 95 games, including a .136/.203/.288 showing this past season.

Nittoli made three MLB appearances after coming over from the Cubs in a minor trade. He turns 33 next month and has six big league outings between three teams. The Xavier product posted a 4.64 ERA over 42 2/3 innings in Triple-A this year.

Mets Place Six Players On Outright Waivers

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The Mets have placed six players on outright waivers, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. They are left-hander Anthony Kay, right-hander Vinny Nittoli, catcher Michael Pérez, outfielder Rafael Ortega, and infielders Danny Mendick and Jonathan Araúz. This will open six spots on the club’s 40-man roster. As noted by DiComo, each player will have the right to elect free agency if they pass through waivers unclaimed.

Kay, 28, was only with the Mets a short time, coming over from the Cubs in mid-September via a waiver claim. Between the two clubs, he tossed 14 2/3 innings with a 6.14 earned run average. He was much better in the minors, with a 3.76 ERA in 40 2/3 Triple-A innings this year. He will be out of options next year.

Nittoli, 33 next month, was also a midseason acquisition from the Cubs. He opted out of his minor league deal and was flipped to the Mets for cash in early June. He spent most of the rest of the season on optional assignment, only making three appearances at the major league level. He tossed 42 2/3 Triple-A innings between the two organizations with an ERA of 4.64 in that time. He will also be out of options next year.

Pérez, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the offseason and was added to the roster in May. He got into three games in the big leagues this year, spending most of his time on optional assignment. He hit .204/.309/.352 in 70 Triple-A games, leading to a wRC+ of 66. He, too, will be out of options next year.

Mendick, 30, had an encouraging performance with the White Sox in 2022, hitting .289/.343/.443 for a wRC+ of 125. But that came in just 31 games since he tore the ACL in his left knee in June of that year. The Sox non-tendered him and the Mets decided to take a chance, signing him to a $1MM guarantee. He hit well in the minors this year, slashing .282/.369/.424 in Triple-A, but his 35 major league games resulted in a paltry line of .185/.232/.277.

Araúz, 25, was selected from the Orioles in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He was selected to the major league roster in August and got into 27 games but hit just .136/.203/.288 in those. His 100 games at the Triple-A level resulted in more palatable line of .239/.340/.415.

Ortega, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in June and was added to the roster at the start of August. He hit .219/.341/.272 in 47 games as the season was winding down for a wRC+ of 83. He had a strong season with the Cubs in 2021, hitting .291/.360/.463, but his career line of .247/.324/.352 translates to a wRC+ of 89.

Most of these players were added to the club late in the year, after they traded away various players at the deadline and needed some fresh bodies to play out the string. None of them were key parts of the long-term plans and they have been removed from the roster in order to give the club some greater flexibility with the offseason set to begin shortly. If they clear waivers, they will become free agents and look to find minor league deals this winter.

Mets Place Brandon Nimmo On 10-Day Injured List

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Brandon Nimmo’s 2023 season is over, as the Mets placed the outfielder on the 10-day injured list due to a right shoulder sprain.  The placement is retroactive to September 29, and catcher Michael Perez was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding roster move.

Manager Buck Showalter told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (X links) and other reporters that Nimmo’s injury is related to his AC joint.  An MRI didn’t reveal any damage to the rotator cuff, so it doesn’t appear to be a particularly serious issue or anything that would hamper Nimmo’s readiness for Spring Training.  Nimmo even told the Athletic’s Tim Britton and other media that he would’ve kept playing if the Mets had still been in playoff contention, and that he should need only 10-14 days to recovery.

Injuries have often plagued Nimmo during his career, yet he followed up a career-best 151 games and 672 plate appearances in 2022 by narrowly topping both marks in 2023, playing 152 games and making 682 trips to the plate.  Nimmo his .274/.363/.466 with a career-high 24 home runs this year, with a 130 wRC+ and 4.4 fWAR.

While the Mets’ season as a whole was a disappointment, Nimmo was a bright spot, and his continued good health provides some extra relief given his long-term importance to the team.  New York re-signed Nimmo to an eight-year, $162MM free agent deal last winter, which outpaced even the most optimistic projections for a player whose injury history (though not his production when healthy) was such a question mark.  It’s obviously too early to call the signing a clear win just yet, but Nimmo’s continued strong play beyond his contract year is a good sign that he can be a big part of what the Mets hope will be an eventual return to contention.

Mets Select Jonathan Araúz

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today, selecting the contract of infielder Jonathan Araúz and activating right-hander Phil Bickford, the latter of whom was acquired at the deadline yesterday. In corresponding moves, catcher Michael Pérez and right-hander Vinny Nittoli were optioned to Triple-A. The club already had many vacancies on their 40-man roster after making several trades in recent days.

Araúz, 24, has played parts of three seasons at the big league level. A former Rule 5 pick of the Red Sox, he’s suited up for Boston and Baltimore in the majors. The switch-hitting infielder brings plenty of defensive flexibility but has a meager .200/.269/.314 slash through 169 career plate appearances.

The Mets snagged Araúz in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft last offseason. He has spent the entire season at Triple-A Syracuse, hitting .244/.344/.429 across 395 trips to the plate. He’s hit 14 homers and walked at a strong 13.2% clip with a roughly average 21.8% strikeout percentage. He still has a minor league option remaining, so the Mets can bounce him between Flushing and Syracuse without putting him on waivers.

Mets Mulling Gary Sanchez Promotion

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The Mets are already set to call up top infield prospect Mark Vientos prior to tonight’s game, and SNY’s Andy Martino further reports that the club is also “carefully weighing” a swap of current catcher Michael Perez for veteran Gary Sanchez, who’s with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate after signing a minor league deal earlier this month.

The Mets are the second organization of the season for the veteran Sanchez, who originally inked a minor league deal with the Giants but exercised a May 1 opt-out after not being selected to the Major League roster in San Francisco. Sanchez struggled mightily with the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, batting just .164/.319/.182 in 69 trips to the plate. He’s been much better with the Mets’ Syracuse affiliate, however, posting a .300/.500/.550 batting line with a homer and two doubles in 28 plate appearances.

Sanchez has a May 19 opt-out date in his deal with the Mets, so a decision on him is due soon one way or another. Swapping him out for Perez, a career .180/.250/.308 batter in 595 Major League plate appearances, would add more offensive upside to a team that has won just six of its past 22 games and fallen six and a half games behind the NL East-leading Braves.

The combination of Sanchez and young Francisco Alvarez isn’t an optimal pairing from a defensive standpoint. That said, it’s worth noting that Sanchez’s defensive grades improved considerably in 2022 after an offseason trade from the Yankees to the Twins (+1 Defensive Runs Saved, 28% caught-stealing rate, positive framing marks from both FanGraphs and Statcast).

It’d only be a temporary arrangement anyhow, as Omar Narvaez is expected back before too long. The veteran backstop, who inked a two-year deal in free agency this past offseason (the second season of which is a player option), has been out since early April due to a calf strain but could return by early June, based on the original timeline of eight to nine weeks the Mets provided for his injury. Tomas Nido could be back even sooner; an eye issue sent him to the 10-day IL seven days ago but was not believed to be overly serious at the time of his placement on the injured list.

Mets Select Michael Pérez

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The Mets announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Michael Pérez. He will take the roster spot of fellow backstop Tomás Nido who has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 7, due to dry eye syndrome. Right-hander Elieser Hernández was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for Pérez. Tim Healey of Newsday previously reported that Pérez was with the club in Cincinnati while Mike Puma of the New York Post first reported on Nido’s IL placement.

The Mets will now be without both of their Opening Day catchers, as Omar Narváez landed on the IL after just five games due to a significant calf strain and Nido now joins him on the shelf. The injury to Narváez opened playing time for prospect Francisco Álvarez but now Nido’s absence will require the club to reach into its depth yet again.

Pérez, 30, was acquired from the Pirates in a trade last July but was outrighted by the club in October. He became a free agent in the winter but rejoined the Mets on a minor league deal and has been playing in Triple-A so far this year. In 19 games for Syracuse, he’s hit just .153/.261/.254, but with encouraging peripherals. He’s walked at a strong 13% clip and struck out in just 17.4% of his plate appearances, with that paltry batting line being weighed down by a .152 batting average on balls in play.

He’s seen part-time action in the big leagues in each of the five previous seasons, suiting up for the Rays, Pirates and Mets. He owns a career batting line of .174/.244/.301 over 591 plate appearances in the big leagues. On the defensive side of things, his framing is considered subpar but he’s been worth four Defensive Runs Saved in his career and grades out well on Statcast’s new caught stealing above average metric. He’ll figures to serve as the backup to Álvarez at least until one of Narváez or Nido get back. He still has an option year remaining and could potentially be sent back to Syracuse easily when that time comes.

As for Nido, he’s out to a terrible start this year, hitting just .118/.148/.118. Perhaps this vision issue provides some explanation for why he’s so far off his career line of .213/.250/.309. It doesn’t seem to be especially serious, as manager Buck Showalter expects him to be fine in three or four days, per Healey.

As for Hernández, he’s been on the injured list all year so far due to a right shoulder strain. He doesn’t seem especially close to a return, given that he hasn’t even begun a rehab assignment. The 60-day count begins from his initial IL placement, meaning he’ll be eligible to return in a few weeks if he’s healthy.

Mets To Sign Michael Perez To Minor League Deal

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The Mets are bringing back catcher Michael Perez, reports Mike Puma of The New York Post. Presumably, it’s a minor league deal for Perez, who was outrighted off the club’s roster in October.

Perez, 30, has spent some time in the majors in each of the past five seasons, spending time with the Rays, Pirates and Mets. He seemed passable with the bat in his first couple of seasons with the Rays, hitting .258/.321/.367 in 2018 and 2019. That was just 135 plate appearances but led to a 91 wRC+, roughly average for a catcher. In the three seasons since, however, he’s produced a line of .149/.222/.282.

Defensively, Perez has generally been considered a strong defender. Prospect reports from his time as a minor league highlighted his blocking and game-calling, though his framing was considered a weak point. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus have considered him to be a subpar framer in his time in the big leagues so far, though Defensive Runs Saved considers his defense to be better than average.

Last year, despite not hitting much, he spent a decent amount of time rostered due to injuries. The Pirates were trying to cover for Roberto Pérez, who underwent season-ending hamstring surgery. Michael Perez got selected in his place and lasted on the roster for more than two months but barely hit at all. He was designated for assignment and sent to the Mets for cash considerations, with that club dealing with injuries to James McCann and Tomás Nido at the time. He stuck with the Mets until getting designated for assignment and outrighted in October.

For the Mets, they clearly liked Perez enough to bring him back as non-roster depth. The major league team will feature Omar Narváez and Nido, with a third catcher on the 40-man roster in Francisco Álvarez. The 21-year-old Álvarez made his MLB debut late last year and is considered one of the best prospects in the league, but that’s mainly due to his bat. He seems likely to begin the season at Triple-A to continue developing as a defender. Joel Sherman of The New York Post recently spoke with general manager Billy Eppler, who said there’s a chance Alvarez could crack the big league club out of Spring Training. Some have suggested the club should carry three catchers in order to get the bat of Álvarez into the lineup, though doing so would give him less time to continue developing his defense than if he were the everyday backstop in Triple-A. However the Mets choose to play it, Perez will give them an experienced option to have in Triple-A should they need it at some point. If he gets back onto the roster, he still has an option year remaining and will give the Mets some roster flexibility.

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