Potential Red Sox Fit Reportedly Signs Elsewhere Despite Rumored Talks; Joins NL West Club
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It sounds like another potential Boston Red Sox target is signing elsewhere.
Boston reportedly was in talks with free agent two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Roberto Perez, but the longtime Cleveland Guardian ultimately ended up agreeing to a deal to join the San Francisco Giants, according to MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.
Perez spent the first eight years of his career with the Guardians before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates ahead of the 2022 campaign. The 34-year-old has dealt with a wide range of injuries over the last few seasons -- including a hamstring ailment that ended his 2022 season -- but has shown he can be one of the league's best defensive backstops when healthy.
The former Guardian won back-to-back Gold Glove awards in 2019 and 2020 but hasn't been able to stay healthy since. Perez has played in just 65 games over the last two seasons but could be an intriguing option for the Giants. San Francisco currently has Joey Bart and Blake Sabol as the only catching options on the team's 40-man roster. Bart is entering his fourth season and slashed .215/.296/.364 in 2022 across 97 games played. Sabol has not made his Major League Baseball debut yet.
Perez could've been a solid option to improve Boston's depth but likely wouldn't have had as big of an opportunity with the team as he likely will with San Francisco. The Red Sox currently have Connor Wong and Reese McGuire on the 40-man roster but already signed slugger Jorge Alfaro to a minor league contract and he may compete for a spot on the big league club.
At the end of the day signing Perez would've been nice for Boston but likely wouldn't have been much a game-changer for the squad. The Red Sox certainly still are busy and have plenty of options available if they want to make another move.
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