A backup backstop is a pretty important fellow. I don't know if our FNG catcher is going to be that guy, but I suspect there is a good chance he will be on the 26-man roster come Opening Day.
Roberto Pérez is from Puerto Rico and was drafted by the Cleveland then-Indians-now-Guardians in the 33rd round of the 2008 draft from Florida Gateway College.
He wears no. 55 which of course our own Tim Lincecum made famous. Pérez made his MLB debut in 2014 at age 25. He's played in 511 games (501 at catcher) with 1752 PA across nine seasons. He's known as a glove-first guy and has consistently rated highly on defensive metrics. His career slash line is .201/.298/.360 which comes out to a .289 wOBA and a 77 wRC+ or in more familiar terms a 75 OPS+. Suffice to say he hits like a backup catcher! ZiPS projects him to hit close to his career averages in 2023 but to deliver 1.8 WAR. ZiPS anticipates that he will remain an elite fielder and that he will log significant time behind the plate.
Pérez did the bulk of the post-season catching for the 2016 AL pennant-winning Cleveland squad. He hit two homers in Game One of the World Series against the eventual-winners Chicago Cubs. His best season was 2019 when he hit 24 HR in 119 G. He was cut loose after the 2021 season and he played 2022 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Injuries limited him to 21 G and only 69 PA.
Joey Bart is still the main man in the Giants plans. But he will need a savvy veteran to help share the load. The team still has Austin Wynns in the fold as well as youngster Blake Sabol. The emerging catching corps will be something to watch this spring.
--M.C.
p.s. I stole the image from the SF Chronicle story (https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giants/article/giants-sign-veteran-catcher-roberto-perez-17750090.php). It is credited to Keith Srakocic (STF/AP).
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I'm always mentioning David Laurila's Sunday column on FanGraphs and here's a tidbit from this morning's post:
The most-underrated pitcher in baseball? How about Logan Webb? Over the past two seasons, the San Francisco Giants southpaw is 26-12 with a 2.97 ERA, a 2.90 FIP, and 8.2 WAR. Frankly, Webb is on the short list of best pitchers in baseball.
You should read this guy!
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-carter-hawkins-compares-the-cubs-and-cleveland/
Pérez signed a minor-league deal and will report to camp as a non-roster invitee (NRI). He gets $2.5M if he makes the team and there are incentives worth another $1.5M.
Barring the unforeseen they will open the season with Bart and Pérez. I like it. That's a good combo. And they still have Wynns in case of an injury. They can see what they have in Blake Sabol at AAA.
They have four other catchers at AAA: Ford Proctor, Ricardo Genovés, Brett Cumberland, and Robert Emery. They have three at AA: Patrick Bailey (1st-rounder in 2020), Brandon Martorano, and Andy Thomas. At the A-level there are Adrian Sugastey (keep an eye on him), Max Wright, and Zach Morgan. (Juan Perez and Onil Perez are the rookie-league guys.)
I think they will be looking very hard at organizational catching depth this spring and there will be a "shake-out" in terms of prospects and levels. Joey Bart is a very important player. If he can be a major-league regular and hit close to league average that will be huge. He doesn't have to be Buster Posey. He just turned 26 so these are his prime seasons. He's not arb-eligible until 2025 so that means he's under team control for the next five years which should be his most productive. I think it is a matter of expectations. Following Posey is a tough act. JoeyB needs to be the best JoeyB there is and carve out his own career on his own strengths.
Local boy Stephen Piscotty (Amador Valley HS, Stanford) gets a minor league deal from the Giants. The former A's OF had his best season in 2018. He's 32. Piscotty was the 36th pick of the 2012 draft, two spots ahead of Mitch Haniger. Carlos Correa was the #1 pick that year and Kevin Gausman was #4. The Giants took Chris Stratton with the 20th pick.
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