Hernán Pérez of Venezuela points to the name on his jersey while running the bases after hitting a solo homerun in the third inning against the United States during the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier Super Round at Clover Park on June 05, 2021 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Venezuelan journeyman Hernan Perez signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds, the organization’s transaction page said.
MLBTradeRumors.com reporter Anthony Franco stated on Thursday that the Reds acquired Perez and stated, “the Reds organization isn’t clear if Perez will get a look in Spring Training.” The organization has not yet announced if he is invited to spring training.
Perez, 32, was born in Villa de Cura, Venezuela, and has played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball.
Perez is currently playing with Cardenales de Lara in the 2023-24 Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Profesional, and declared free agency on November 6.
Last season, Perez was in the Minnesota Twins organization at Low-A Fort Myers and Triple-A St. Paul and played in 69 games, batting .276 over 255 plate appearances with 61 hits, nine doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 48 RBI, 11 stolen bases, 29 walks, 54 strikeouts, and a .828 OPS.
In March, Perez played with the Venezuela at the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Pool D at loanDepot Park in Miami. Perez played in one game against Israel in the WBC and struck out three times in his only three at-bats of the tournament. Venezuela lost 9-7 to the United States in the quarterfinals of the WBC in Miami.
Perez also played in the 2023 Caribbean Series in Caracas, Venezuela, with Leones del Caracas. In eight games with 39 plate appearances, Perez hit .306, scoring seven runs, recording 11 hits, one double, two RBI, three stolen bases, three walks, and eight strikeouts. Leones del Caracas made it to the championship of the 2023 Caribbean Series and lost to Tigres del Licey of Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana 3-0.
Perez played with Cardenales de Lara in the 2022-23 winter league season in 51 games hitting .293 with 205 plate appearances recording 51 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 40 RBI, 24 walks, 19 strikeouts, and a .871 OPS.
In 2022, Perez started the year in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol with Toros de Tijuana, and played in three games with 13 plate appearances, hitting .231 with three hits, one double, one home runs, three RBI, and three strikeouts before he was released on April 26, 2022. Perez signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves organization on April 27, 2022, and was assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett. He played in 86 games in Gwinnett and had 352 plate appearances, hitting .269 with 87 hits, 15 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 39 RBI, 20 stolen bases, 22 walks, 74 strikeouts, and a .724 OPS.
Perez has played 10 seasons in MLB with the Detroit Tigers from 2012-15, the Milwaukee Brewers from 2015-19, the Chicago Cubs in 2020, and the Washington Nationals in 2021, appearing in 651 games in MLB with a lifetime average of .250 over 1,846 plate appearances, with 436 hits, 74 doubles, 11 triples, 45 home runs, 180 RBI, 69 stolen bases, 76 walks, 397 strikeouts, and a .662 OPS.
The Reds will play their first spring training game on February 24 on the road against the Cleveland Guardians at 3:05 p.m. EST at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Ariz.