How A's Latest Signing Impacts Former Top Prospect
According to the Las Vegas Aviators' transactions page, the Oakland A's have re-signed catcher Carlos Pérez to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A. On the surface, not a huge deal, but it could have an big impact on how the Opening Day roster looks.
Pérez was with the A's last season and has spent three of the last four seasons in the organization, originally signing with them ahead of the 2020 season before the minor league season was cancelled, then re-signing with the A's in '21. He spent the 2022 season with the Colorado Rockies Triple-A club, then re-signed with the A's last March and eventually made the club to start the season, acting as Shea Langeliers' backup for much of the campaign.
The 33-year-old backstop hit .226 with a .293 OBP and an 85 OPS+ in 66 games.
Here's the thing though: Much like last season, Pérez is insurance. He knows the young pitchers on the staff and can work with them as they continue to grow on the mound. He's also not going to cost as much as signing a veteran catcher would, so when Tyler Soderstrom is deemed ready, then Pérez will unfortunately become expendable.
This signing has the biggest impact on the A's former top prospect, Soderstrom, as he prepares for what could be his first full season in the big leagues. Last year he was brought up at the same time as Zack Gelof, but Soderstrom didn't enjoy the same success in his debut, batting .160 with a .232 OBP and a 32 OPS+ in 45 games.
Earlier this month, we said this of Soderstrom's predicament heading into camp in our way-too-early roster projection. "After he struggled to a .160 average with a .232 OBP and a 35 wRC+ in 45 big league games, Oakland could bring in a veteran on a cheap deal to give Soderstrom some extra time to develop and get regular at-bats in Triple-A."
Soderstrom is a bat-first talent that still needs reps behind the dish (or potentially another position) to solidify a spot on the 26-man roster. If Soderstrom had raked in 2023, then the A's would have figured out a way to get him regular at-bats in 2024. With his struggles last season and no clear path to regular playing time, starting him in the minors makes sense.
Yet, this could also end up being a battle in Spring Training, where if Soderstrom is on fire in camp, the A's could end up giving him the backup catcher role without needing to add Pérez to the 40-man.
The way it looks is that Pérez has been brought back because of his familiarity with the pitching staff, but also as a placeholder until Soderstrom is ready. When that will be is all up to Soderstrom.
This also means that the A's likely don't have enough confidence in Kyle McCann or Yohel Pozo to serve as the backup in Oakland as things stand. It's still unclear what Soderstrom's long-term role will be with the A's, too. With Langeliers at catcher, they have the big trade piece from the Matt Olson deal, and with Ryan Noda, they have a pretty talented first baseman that should be in the lineup every day. Then you add in Brent Rooker, who just had a breakout 30 homer season and is the likely designated hitter. First base, DH, and catcher are the only three positions Soderstrom has played as a professional.
It will be interesting to see what Mark Kotsay has planned when all four inevitably are on the A's roster.