Michael Pérez (born August 7, 1992) is a Puerto Rican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Career

Pérez attended the Colegio Vocacional Para Adultos in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Pérez in the fifth round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. Pérez played for the Diamondbacks organization for eight years, reaching Triple-A.

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 25, 2018, the Diamondbacks traded Pérez and Brian Shaffer to the

for

Matt Andriese Matthew Lee Andriese (; born August 28, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Ange ...

. With

Wilson Ramos Wilson Abraham Ramos Campos (born August 10, 1987), nicknamed "The Buffalo", is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals ...

injured, the Rays promoted him to the major leagues the same day, and he made his major league debut the next day against the

. He got his first hit, a double, off of Alex Cobb that night. On August 31, Perez was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring and would not play for the remainder of the season. Perez ended the season slashing .284/.304/.392 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 11 runs batted in. Over the next two seasons, Pérez slashed .185/.277/.269 over 60 games.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On October 30, 2020, the

claimed Pérez off of waivers. Pérez played in 70 games for Pittsburgh in 2021, hitting just .143/.221/.290 with 7 home runs and 21 RBI. The Pirates designated Pérez for assignment after the season on November 19, 2021. Pérez cleared waivers on November 24, and was assigned outright to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. The Pirates promoted Pérez back to the major leagues on May 7, 2022. On June 30, Pérez hit three home runs in a game against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. It was his first career game with multiple home runs, as he went 4-for-4 with 5 RBI. He was designated for assignment on July 22.

New York Mets

Pérez was traded to the

on July 23, 2022, in exchange for cash considerations. He made his Mets debut as a mid-game defensive replacement on August 15, as James McCann moved from catcher to first base. Perez collected his first hit as a Met on August 20, a 2-RBI single against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. In 6 games for New York, Pérez went 2-for-14 (.143) with 3 RBI and 2 walks. Following the season, Pérez was designated for assignment on October 7. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A on October 11. He elected free agency following the season on November 10. On January 26, 2023, Pérez re-signed with the Mets organization on a minor league contract. He played in 19 games for the Triple-A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which open ...

, hitting .153/.261/.254 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI. On May 10, his contract was selected to the active roster. In his season debut, Pérez became only the third Met in franchise history ( Xavier Nady and

Darryl Strawberry Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and author who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout his career, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in th ...

) to go 4-for-4 in his first game of the season. He played in only three games for the Mets on the year, going 4–for–8 (.500). Following the season on October 20, Pérez was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Syracuse, but refused the assignment and elected free agency on October 24.

Baltimore Orioles

On December 30, 2023, Pérez signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Michael 1992 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Atenienses de Manatí (baseball) players Gigantes de Carolina (baseball) players Indianapolis Indians players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Kane County Cougars players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente catchers Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Missoula Osprey players Mobile BayBears players New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players People from Cataño, Puerto Rico Pittsburgh Pirates players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Reno Aces players Salt River Rafters players Senadores de San Juan players South Bend Silver Hawks players Syracuse Mets players Tampa Bay Rays players Toros del Este players Visalia Rawhide players