White Sox Shuffle Roster Amid Catcher Overflow, DFA Perez
The White Sox have designated catcher Carlos Perez for assignment to clear roster space for the newly signed Chris Flexen. With the White Sox’s 40-man roster already crowded with catchers, the move comes as no surprise.
Perez played in 27 games with the big league club last season. In 53 plate appearances, he posted a .611 OPS. The 27-year-old catcher has appeared in only 34 MLB games over the last two seasons. In that small sample size, he owns a .209/.254/.343 slash line with one home run and five RBIs. While his MLB opportunities were limited, his Triple-A numbers did not warrant much promotion.
Throughout his nine years in the White Sox minor league system, Perez owns a career slash line of .264/.314/.389 with 53 home runs and 286 RBIs. While Perez was never much of a power hitter, he turned heads in 2022 after hitting a career-high 21 homers in Triple-A Charlotte. Before 2021, his single-season high was three, and his career total was just seven.
Perez did leave an impression on the front office and coaches before his breakout 2022 campaign. Chris Getz, who was the White Sox assistant general manager at the time, gave Perez rave reviews during Spring Training.
“Carlos turned some heads in Major League camp last year,” Getz told MLB.com. “Jerry Narron and Tony [La Russa], they really fell in love with him, which was great for Carlos.”
Former White Sox manager Tony La Russa was also impressed with Perez after watching him catch bullpens for Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel.
“I’d like to be his agent,” Tony La Russa told reporters in March 2021. “He’s got a knack.”
However, the sudden power surge and Spring Training success weren’t enough to impress a front office that has been targeting catchers all off-season. After acquiring Korey Lee during last year’s trade deadline, the White Sox added Max Stassi, Chuckie Lee, and Martin Maldonado. The recent additions have made Perez the odd man out.
During his small taste of big league action, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound catcher proved to be a below-average defender. Even if Perez clears waivers, there is a good chance the White Sox will release him entirely.