Perhaps the Kenny Williams isn't aware that to reach the World Series, you need a
detrimental Perez. Instead, he picked up one who might actually bring something to the table.
Today the White Sox announced that Eduardo Perez signed a minor-league deal with the White Sox, a move that has no negative ramifications, and the chance for positive ones.
It was only a year ago -- though it seems like much longer -- that Perez formed half of an anonymous yet incredibly effective platoon in Cleveland with Ben Broussard. With Perez hitting lefties and Broussard taking on righties, here's the damage they did before the Tribe traded Perez on June 30:
| Name |
AB |
HR |
RBI |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
| Perez |
99 |
8 |
22 |
.303 |
.343 |
.636 |
| Broussard |
197 |
9 |
35 |
.325 |
.369 |
.513 |
| Total |
296 |
17 |
57 |
.318 |
.359 |
.554 |
Put them together as a player, and they ranked behind only Paul Konerko in terms of OPS among American League first basemen before Perez was shipped to Seattle.
For reasons unknown, he hit a wall after being traded to the Mariners. He was still facing as many lefties as normal (65 ABs against lefties, 22 against righties), yet only batted .195/.304/.241 for Seattle, with no measurable difference against lefties.
Since he's 37, that could mean that the Cleveland performance was a fluke. It also likely means that his best days as a corner outfielder are behind him. He's played mostly at first the last two years.
Nevertheless, the Sox could always use help hitting southpaws, so picking up a guy with a lifetime line of .265/.362/.501 against them -- especially one who doesn't require a spot on the 25-man roster -- is a good decision.
There's not a lot of room for him on the Sox bench as of now. Toby Hall, Alex Cintron and Rob Mackowiak are assured positions, and I doubt Pablo Ozuna is going anywhere. So that leaves one spot for Josh Fields, Ryan Sweeney, Perez, or any other spring surprise.
If he starts out the season in Charlotte, he'll have places to play, whether as a platoon partner for Casey Rogowski, spare outfield jobs or DHing. There aren't a lot of big bats in the Knights lineup.
And if he sucks -- well, as
Timo Perez and
Neifi Perez have shown, that might not be such a bad thing, either.