JUAN PEREZ

9/3/78; NDFA '98 (Boston); Dominican Republic
R/L; 6-0, 170

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
 HR
BB
K
 BB/9 K/9 WHIP OAVG
ERA
1999 R (Bos)
6-6-0
13
13
69.2
38
 1
30
107
 3.88 13.82 0.98 .159
1.94
2000 R (Bos)
3-1-1
9
5
34.1
24
 2
13
43
 3.41 11.27 1.08 .192
2.36
2001 A (Bos)
8-8-0
26
25
125.2
118
 14
42
113
 3.01 8.09 1.27 .251
3.58
2002 A+ (Bos)
0-6-0
16
14
66.2
71
 4
19
39
 2.57 5.27 1.35 .274
3.78
2003 AA (Bos)
3-3-0
18
18
30.2
37
 4
11
24
 3.23 7.05 1.57 .306
3.82
2003 A+ (Bos)
3-4-18
33
0
38.0
34
 0
12
37
 2.84 8.76 1.21 .230
2.37
2004 AA (Bos)
5-1-6
46
0
78.1
72
 12
37
79
 4.25 9.08 1.39 .237
4.14
2005 AAA (Bos)
4-5-1
40
1
62.0
61
 7
29
74
 4.21
10.74
1.45
.261
4.50
2006 NL
0-1-0
7
0
3.1
5
 1
1
3
 2.70
8.11
1.80
.385
8.10
2006 AAA
0-0-0
4
0
7.0
3
 0
3
6
 3.86
7.71
0.86
.136
0.00
2006 AAA (NYM)
0-1-0
43
0
63.0
65
 4
34
55
 4.86
7.86
1.57
.266
2.86
2007 NL
0-0-0
17
0
12.1
14
 2
8
10
 5.84
7.30
1.78
.286
4.38
2007 AAA
3-2-2
40
0
55.2
52
 5
25
63
 4.04
10.19
1.38
.243
4.69
2008 AAA
2-2-1
20
0
22.2
17
3
12
35
4.76
13.90
1.28
.207
3.57
2008 R
1-0-0
4
0
6.0
2
0
2
8
3.00
12.00
0.60
.091
0.00

The Pirates claimed Perez on waivers from the Mets in August 2006 and added him to the 40-man roster. The Mets had acquired him less than a year earlier after he washed out of the Red Sox' system. Being severely short of relievers, the Mets had put him on their 40-man roster. Perez was once considered a very marginal prospect in an extremely weak Boston system, but he lost that status when it was discovered he was three years older than the Red Sox thought. There wasn't a great deal of evidence that he could be a useful major leaguer when the Pirates acquired him. He was 27 and moved slowly through the minors, despite being old for his level most of the time. His control has never been good and, at AA and AAA prior to the Pirates acquiring him, he allowed a lot of baserunners. His K rate was generally good, but had dropped in 2006 at the time the Pirates claimed him, while his control problems appeared to be increasing. He got a September callup and didn't do well in very limited action.

Perez had a very strong spring in 2007, showing a mid-90s fastball and improved control. He made the team when John Grabow opened on the DL, but in eight April outings he threw only 37 of 80 pitches for strikes. Back in AAA, Perez had a mediocre season. His K rate was very good, but control was still a problem. His opponents' OPS was well under .600 against LH batters and over .800 against RH batters, so he might conceivably be useful as a LOOGY. The Pirates called him up in September and he pitched well in six outings and badly in three. He came to spring training ostensibly with a chance of winning a job in the majors, but hurt his elbow. The Pirates released him and then signed him to a minor league contract. After a GCL rehab, he returned to AAA in July and pitched reasonably well, aside from a high walk rate. His K rate was remarkable. Depending on whether the Pirates think the results will translate to the majors, they may consider putting him back on the 40-man roster after the season, as the organization is very short on LH relief options.

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