Cubs sign catcher Carlos Perez |
Everyone knew that other transactions would follow when the Carson Kelly to Cubs deal became official. The corresponding move was watching Matt Thaiss get traded from the Cubs to the White Sox after the Cubs traded for him earlier in the offseason.
Thaiss was seen as Miguel Amaya's backup, but after getting Kelly, Thaiss was on his way out as he was out of Minor League options, and the Cubs weren't going to carry three catchers to open the season. However, the Thaiss move was just the beginning of a flurry of catcher moves, as the Cubs went out and landed catcher Carlos Perez and signed him to a Minor League deal. The 34-year-old Perez has been around a long time but has only logged five seasons of MLB experience, with the rest of his time coming in the Minors. That includes 2024, where he spent the entire season in the Sacramento A's AAA organization. He will be coming to the Cubs for a similar role, serving as one of the primary AAA catchers along with Moises Ballesteros and being an emergency backup should the Cubs need one. In other words, he is filling the role that Christian Bethancourt occupied last season, and the Cubs are hoping they don't need to use him as often as they used Bethancourt. Perez put up some solid numbers this past season as he slashed .260/.344/.544/114 wRC+ across 112 games. In addition, he connected for 27 homers and 77 RBIs and now has 139 career homers at the Minor League level. If that was the type of production he could display yearly, Perez would not only be in the majors but also a reliable MLB option that any team would love to have. That hasn't been the case as Perez has gotten time behind the dish across five MLB seasons, but has struggled to get the job done when called upon. The last time Perez saw action on an MLB diamond came in 2023 when he hit just .226 across 68 games with six homers and 20 RBIs. Looking at his entire MLB career, Perez is a career .218 hitter with 17 homers and 78 RBIs. In other words, he has always been your typical backup catcher who doesn't get much playing time, but he has shown the ability to produce sparingly in the majors while lighting up the minors. Diving further into what Perez brings to the table and his overall metrics will show that he is an average MLB catcher but slightly above average in the minors. Perez is also one of the good guys in baseball and is a joy to have in your organization. He has played for eight different teams across his 16-year professional career while spending his MLB years with the Angels and A's. The Cubs and their fans hope they never see Perez at the MLB level, especially with Kelly and Ballesteros as options in case Miguel Amaya struggles and goes down. However, adding Perez does have some value for Ballesteros and Amaya specifically. Even if his hitting isn't where any MLB team would like it to be, he has always been known to work well with a pitching staff, and the Cubs are hoping he can use some of his game-calling skills and pass that along to the younger catchers in the Cubs system. That is often something that gets overlooked when it comes to any catcher, but having a guy added to your organization who not only knows how to call a game but can pass that knowledge on to the future of this organization could be huge. This is another one of those moves that most fans will ignore, but again, depth signings are crucial for any organization. That is something Jed Hoyer has gotten very good with the past few years, and with the holiday season setting in and a lot of teams taking some time off this week, you could see a few more depth pickups for the Cubs.
