Roberto Perez Agrees to One-Year, $5 Million Deal with Pittsburgh Pirates

Life’s the Pitts(burgh) for Roberto Perez.

The 32-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher and the Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to a one-year contract, according to ESPN sources.

Roberto Perez, The deal, which is contingent upon Perez passing a physical, is worth $5 million, according to confirmed multiple reports.

Pérez won Gold Gloves in 2019 and 2020 with Cleveland Guardians but struggled at the plate throughout his career and hit just .149 with seven home runs and 17 RBI in 44 games in 2021. The Guardians declined his $7 million option for 2022.

Pérez takes over for Jacob Stallings, a Gold Glove winner in 2021 who was traded to the Miami Marlins on Monday for reliever Zach Thompson and a pair of prospects.

Pérez is a year older and considerably more expensive than Stallings, but the Pirates were able to flip Stallings – who is under team control through 2024 – for minor leaguers, the main focus of general manager Ben Cherington‘s franchise-wide reboot.

The trade left Pittsburgh, temporarily at least, without a catcher on the major league roster after Michael Pérez was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis last week.

Roberto Pérez will take over as the primary receiver for a pitching staff in flux. The Pirates used 17 different starters in 2021 and the rotation is a bit of a jumble, though Pittsburgh did sign veteran left-handed pitcher José Quintana on Monday to a one-year deal worth $2 million.