Red Sox release veteran catcher after spending all season on injured list
The Red Sox released veteran catcher Roberto Perez on Tuesday, according to the transaction log.
Perez had been on the WooSox’ 60-day injured list while working out in Fort Myers. There had been speculation he would have come off the IL in June and be assigned to Triple-A Worcester.
Boston signed Perez back in December to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League camp. If he had made the Red Sox' 26-man roster, he would have earned a $1.4 million base salary.
Perez saw limited time in spring training, playing in seven games and going 1-for-10 with three walks, three strikeouts, and a run scored.
The 35-year-old was a target of the Red Sox last offseason, but he elected to sign with the Giants instead. Perez is considered an excellent defender behind the plate, winning Wilson’s MLB Defensive Player of the Year in ’19 and back-to-back Gold Gloves with Cleveland in ’19 and ’20.
The Puerto Rico native has appeared in only 70 major league games over the past three seasons, batting .171 (37-for-216) with nine homers, five doubles, 26 RBIs, 28 walks, and 87 strikeouts.
Over parts of 10 big league seasons, he has batted .207 with a .298 on-base percentage, .358 slugging percentage, .655 OPS, 55 homers, 57 doubles, and four triples in 516 games (1,769 plate appearances).
