Chisoxfn Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 In an effort to fortify their offense against left-handed pitching, the White Sox signed first baseman/designated hitter Eduardo Perez to a minor league contract Monday. Perez, 37, has played over parts of 13 major league seasons, slugging 79 home runs. He batted .253 with nine home runs and 33 RBIs in 80 games with Cleveland and Seattle last season. He hit all nine of his homers against left-handers last season. Perez, the son of former Cincinnati great Tony Perez, enjoyed his best season with the Reds in 1997 when he hit 16 home runs and drove in 52 runs in 106 games. He has played for six teams and was a first-round pick of the Angels out of Florida State in 1991. I am unclear of where we would play him since we have a couple DH's/1st baseman but Perez is still a pretty darn good hitter against LHPing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 (edited) Tererro could be DFA'd so he can get onto the 25 man after Spring Training if this is the case. Edited February 12, 2007 by knightni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Is this a minor league deal, or did we drop someone from the 40 man? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Ya it's minor league deal, but he will make the roster I bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 I've been begging the Sox to sign Perez for a while now. He's fantastic against LHP, and he did very well in his brief time in the AL Central last year against the top lefties in the division. He'd be a great guy to have face the likes of Santana, C.C., etc. I just hope he can make the 25 man roster. Great signing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish71 Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 02:02 PM) I've been begging the Sox to sign Perez for a while now. He's fantastic against LHP, and he did very well in his brief time in the AL Central last year against the top lefties in the division. He'd be a great guy to have face the likes of Santana, C.C., etc. I just hope he can make the 25 man roster. Great signing! This is a nice little signing. With all of the tough lefties in our division this is a good investment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted February 12, 2007 Author Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 12:02 PM) I've been begging the Sox to sign Perez for a while now. He's fantastic against LHP, and he did very well in his brief time in the AL Central last year against the top lefties in the division. He'd be a great guy to have face the likes of Santana, C.C., etc. I just hope he can make the 25 man roster. Great signing! My question is where does he fit on the 25 man roster? He definitely gives us two good Right handed bats off the bench (him and Hall) but the guy can only play first base (IIRC) and we have Thome/Konerko who both can only play first or DH. My question is this, Would we not play Thome against real good lefties and instead go with Perez? I know for the most part I wouldn't simply because Thome is a better player and draws a ton of walks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Can he play LF at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(knightni @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 02:01 PM) Ya it's minor league deal, but he will make the roster I bet. Cool. It will be interesting to see who's spot is in danger, or if they are expecting someone like Uribe or Pods to not be able to go at the beginning of April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 08:04 PM) My question is where does he fit on the 25 man roster? He definitely gives us two good Right handed bats off the bench (him and Hall) but the guy can only play first base (IIRC) and we have Thome/Konerko who both can only play first or DH. My question is this, Would we not play Thome against real good lefties and instead go with Perez? I know for the most part I wouldn't simply because Thome is a better player and draws a ton of walks. I'm not sure how he'll make the roster. In my opinion though, I'd much rather have Perez facing tough lefties than Thome. Against LHP, Perez is a better overall hitter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalapse Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(fathom @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 02:02 PM) I've been begging the Sox to sign Perez for a while now. He's fantastic against LHP, and he did very well in his brief time in the AL Central last year against the top lefties in the division. He'd be a great guy to have face the likes of Santana, C.C., etc. I just hope he can make the 25 man roster. Great signing! About damn time they picked him up, he's been a popular name on here for a few years now, I know I mentioned his name as recently as a few days ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(Kalapse @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 08:07 PM) About damn time they picked him up, he's been a popular name on here for a few years now, I know I mentioned his name as recently as a few days ago. In the past few years, I've mentioned Mackowiak and Perez. Maybe I should set my sights higher, and start naming someone like Johan Santana or ARod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Wow, I was just talking to a friend yesterday about Perez being the only FA available that I'd have even the slightest interest in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish71 Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(Chisoxfn @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 02:04 PM) My question is this, Would we not play Thome against real good lefties and instead go with Perez? I know for the most part I wouldn't simply because Thome is a better player and draws a ton of walks. Jason, The answer is because Thome while dangerous was terrible against lefties last year. Overall he hit .236. But lets look at some of the other numbers against rotation guys he will face. Thome hit a grand .000 against Sabathia. And he hit a lovely .071 against Cliff Lee. Against Santana he hit .191. Against Rodgers he hit .191 also. This is why I am not all that broken up about Eddie hitting against some of the tougher lefties in our division. Thome can change the game with one swing, however more often than not his swing misses tough left handed pitching. And with our overall craptacular hitting against good left handed pitching we need whatever edge we can use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jphat007 Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 (edited) Versus LHP last year Perez .275 .331 .503 .835 Thome .236 .354 .361 .715 Interesting. Wouldn't mind if they let Perez play in LF either. COuldn't be that much worse than Pods. I know he's played the outfield some. I can't wait for some baseball. can't believe P&C is only 5 days away. Snuck up on me this year. I guess that's what happens when you have a good college basketball team to follow. Edited February 12, 2007 by jphat007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Konerko, AJ, Iguchi, Uribe, Crede, Cintron, Ozuna, Thome, Hall, Pods, Anderson, Erstad, Dye, Mackowiak Buehrle, Contreras, Garland, Vazquez, 5th Starter, Jenks, MacDougal, Thornton, and the other 3 relievers (whoever they may be) That's 25 right there. If Perez is to make the team out of the gate, somebody's gotta go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knightni Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/perezed01.shtml Hm, he's played some in the corner outfield. Platoon with Pods perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Perez can't play in the outfield anymore. He's had some leg injuries which have hurt his mobility. I'd like to see Pods start the year on the DL, and have Perez take his spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RibbieRubarb Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Perez has hit lefties very well over his career. But let's look at last year: In 18 at bats last year he hit .273 with 2 hrs and an OPS of 1.152 against Johan Santana. In 10 at bats last year he hit .400 with 1 hr and an OPS of 1.200 against Cliff Lee In 3 at bats last year he hit .333 against CC Sabathia In 24 at bats last year he hit .250 with 1 hr and an OBP of .379 & OPS of .754 against Kenny Rogers In 9 at bats last year he hit .667 with 1 hr and an OPS of 1.838 against Nate Robertson I can see why Kenny picked him up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 How'd he hit against Buehrle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 08:25 PM) How'd he hit against Buehrle? Very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 This is about the only player in the White Sox organization that has actually played OF that would probably play a worse LF than Pods. I'm just assuming right now, which is probably a mistake, but he's 37 (38 in September) and he blew out his achilles once upon a time. The only reason he's played 71.1 innings in the OF over the past 3 years is to get his bat in the lineup, because that's how valuable managers feel he is against LHP. I don't blame said managers, but you really shouldn't even expect more than 5 games out of him in the OF, otherwise he could get hurt in no time. Regardless of that, this is an outstanding signing. The Sox may actually have a pretty damn good offense this year, and they might be able to actually hit both lefties and righties. So, does this make the Sox bench the best in (AL/MLB) going into the year again this year? Cuz I kinda think it does. The only real huge weakness on the bench is that there isn't a super speed guy who can steal a base (Ozuna has the speed, but lacks the stealing), but that plays such a small role that it's not worth digging for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 03:29 PM) This is about the only player in the White Sox organization that has actually played OF that would probably play a worse LF than Pods. I'm just assuming right now, which is probably a mistake, but he's 37 (38 in September) and he blew out his achilles once upon a time. The only reason he's played 71.1 innings in the OF over the past 3 years is to get his bat in the lineup, because that's how valuable managers feel he is against LHP. I don't blame said managers, but you really shouldn't even expect more than 5 games out of him in the OF, otherwise he could get hurt in no time. Regardless of that, this is an outstanding signing. The Sox may actually have a pretty damn good offense this year, and they might be able to actually hit both lefties and righties. So, does this make the Sox bench the best in (AL/MLB) going into the year again this year? Cuz I kinda think it does. The only real huge weakness on the bench is that there isn't a super speed guy who can steal a base (Ozuna has the speed, but lacks the stealing), but that plays such a small role that it's not worth digging for it. We'll always have the bottom of the 9th in game 2 of the ALCS. I actually think this bench is fairly incredible in comparison to other teams. I think we've really improved on last year's offense as a whole, which was a pretty damn good offense to begin with. I'm just worried about the bullpen, although I have this strange feeling that they'll be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iWiN4PreP Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Nice signing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Rowland Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Feb 12, 2007 -> 02:29 PM) This is about the only player in the White Sox organization that has actually played OF that would probably play a worse LF than Pods. I'm just assuming right now, which is probably a mistake, but he's 37 (38 in September) and he blew out his achilles once upon a time. The only reason he's played 71.1 innings in the OF over the past 3 years is to get his bat in the lineup, because that's how valuable managers feel he is against LHP. I don't blame said managers, but you really shouldn't even expect more than 5 games out of him in the OF, otherwise he could get hurt in no time. Regardless of that, this is an outstanding signing. The Sox may actually have a pretty damn good offense this year, and they might be able to actually hit both lefties and righties. So, does this make the Sox bench the best in (AL/MLB) going into the year again this year? Cuz I kinda think it does. The only real huge weakness on the bench is that there isn't a super speed guy who can steal a base (Ozuna has the speed, but lacks the stealing), but that plays such a small role that it's not worth digging for it. I think Thome's late season struggles (especially against LHP) and need for rest during the season to stay healthy makes it obvious that Perez can play first against lefties and let Konerko get something of a breather by DH'ing. Paulie played a lot of innings in the field last year due to a lack of a backup with Mack covering CF too often. This also gives you a monster LHP bat off the bench late in the game when the opposing manager has to decide whether to bring in the righty to shut down a rally. I think this is going to turn out to be one of the better offseason moves Williams makes this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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