Carlos

Perez

This is the catching Carlos Pérez who spent most of 2015 and ’16 in the majors with the Angels and also got in 66 games with the A’s in 2023, as opposed to the younger Carlos Pérez who spent some time as a backup with the White Sox in 2022 and ’23. The 35-year-old has been a surprisingly strong Triple-A hitter for several years now, but he hit a modest .226/.293/.357 in 189 plate appearances when the A’s gave him a chance. He came in at .286/.372/.572 with 27 homers in 111 games for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate last season. As things stand now, he’d be in line to compete with César Salazar for Houston’s backup catching gig. However, there’s a good chance the Astros will add a more established player.

The Cubs have to trim down their roster a bit quicker than most teams as they’re traveling to Japan to open the season against the Dodgers on March 18. The biggest surprise here is Nicky Lopez, who had been expected to land a bench spot on the team’s Opening Day roster. That means that Vidal Brujan and Rule-5 selection Gage Workman should each travel with the team to Japan. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Lopez ultimately get released and explore other opportunities elsewhere.

The 34-year-old backstop will add quality veteran depth in spring camp for the Cubs. Pérez didn’t see any big league action during the 2024 season, but he was terrific for the Athletics at Triple-A Las Vegas where he slashed .260/.344/.544 with 27 homers and 77 RBI in 468 plate appearances. It’s unlikely that he does enough to earn a reserve role on the Opening Day roster, but his consistent power in the minor leagues would at least make him an intriguing deep league option if he did.

Pérez is back in the fold with the Athletics as extra catching depth heading into the 2024 campaign. The 33-year-old veteran backstop was booted from Oakland’s 40-man roster at the conclusion of last year after compiling a .650 OPS in 66 major league contests.

Pérez will most likely wind up electing free agency after being removed from Oakland’s 40-man roster. The 32-year-old backstop posted a .650 OPS in 66 games this season for the Athletics in his first stint back in the majors since the 2018 campaign.

The 25-year-old backstop has caught the last three contests so it is no surprise that he gets the afternoon off. Langerliers has struggled to keep his batting average above .200 but has launched 11 homers, which is tied for second among active Oakland players. Carlos Pérez will catch lefty JP Sears while batting sixth in Langerliers’ absence.

Pérez is back for Tuesday’s game against the Cardinals after missing roughly six weeks due to a fractured left thumb.

Nothing official yet, but it certainly sounds like Pérez is facing a lengthy absence.

Pérez plated runs in the fifth and 11th innings. He’s been a solid player for the A’s in his first major league action since 2018, hitting .248/.310/.396 in 113 plate appearances. He’s probably a better player than Shea Langeliers right now, though it still wouldn’t make much sense to increase his role.

Pérez will handle the backup catching duties for Oakland with Manny Piña opening the regular season on the injured list.