Hernan Perez DFA

[adambr2]

I'm not going to say saladino is going to light the world on fire, but 12 at-bats seems to me like a small sample size. He did have a 701 OPS last year in 130 plate appearances and he did hit five home runs.

 

I would expect over time for him to put up a line pretty similar to Arcia. Not that that really solved any offensive issues but 12 bats and making a judgment seems pretty rash

 

Making rash and definitive judgments based on the tiniest of sample sizes seems to be a very popular thing to do around here. And well, with fans in general. Like how Woodruff wasn't a starter based on his 2016 ERA in that role, or how Chacin was the worst signing ever a couple of starts into his tenure. And even when it's not SSS-related, the conviction in the hot takes is the same. I remember the reactions to the Wade Miley signing. Or whoever it was calling for Stearns' head for not signing Alex Cobb. And no, it's not about being wrong about those things (I mean it's not like anyone thought Miley would do what he did, not even those who liked the move), everyone is wrong a lot of the time, it's more about how the reactions are so strong, based on so little, and with no regard for the possibility that they might be wrong.

 

Anyway, to bring it back to the original topic; Grandal started 0-12, and he has been pretty good since. Yelich had something similar (Or maybe it was 1-20 or sth?) just this past week. I don't expect Saladino to hit like them, obviously, but stretches like this happen all the time. This one just happens to be the first at bats after being called up to replace a popular player.

 

Wait, Perez was a popular player? Popular to whom?

 

Anyway, the thing is, when you're a marginal, easily replaceable player like Tyler Saladino, you don't get a large sample size. You have to come up and get the job done or you go back down because you are very easily replaced.

 

Woodruff isn't a great comparison because he was a high prospect and he STILL spent a great deal of time being sent down last year. Yasmani Grandal has a track record and the team invested 18M in him this year. Christian Yelich is an MVP level player.

 

When players like Grandal and Yelich hit a 0 for 13 to start the season, you shrug and wait for them to come out of it. When a player like Tyler Saladino does it, you shuffle him out and shuffle in the next guy. Sure, he might get 20-25 ABs or so to do something, but that will probably be it because he has options and you don't wait around for easily replaceable players forever. Might seem unfair, but that's just the way it goes.

[Roderick]

To show how little half a season of advanced stats predict actual ability going forward, Domingo Santana's defensive stats from 2018 suggested he made decent progress on defense last season. Arcia is having a down season on defense but he's probably still going to be viewed as well above average to elite by most teams.

 

Arcia can and does make elite plays. But he goofs up enough easy ones that it negates that in my mind. I would call him above average, but definitely not elite overall on defense.

[JosephC]

Saladino might have a small 2019 MLB sample size. But his overall MLB sample size is not small. Now over 1000 plate appearances. .230/.281/.334/.614. At nearly 30 years old, I very much doubt that he will be a late-bloomer with the bat.

[Outlander]

Right, for a small sample in 2018 when Saladino played for Milwaukee he was above average but his entire career tells you what to expect, which isn't much. I guess they were looking to ride a hot hand for a little but as is often the case a hot bat in the minors doesn't always carry to the majors. Next.

[Wahoo Maniac]

I think the decision to DFA Perez was neccessary. He was a great teammate and available every night but also out of options, going on 3yrs straight of declining performance at ages 26-28, lost his most valuable asset (versatility) with Gamel covering the entire OF and now Hiura at 2b/Moose 3b every night plus Saladino/Spangenberg/Dubon performing well in AAA. It was a perfect storm but the writing was on the wall when Moose was resigned (Shaw being there instead of Hiura currently).

 

If Perez performed offensively he'd still be here even with the Brewers being disappointed in Arcia's defense. But given that Saladino/Spangenberg have options, are versatile IF defenders and have MLB experience it makes the decision pretty easy in my eyes. Not to mention they both have already outperformed him at the MLB level, when healthy, so that potential is already there regardless if Saladino starts 0-13. I think Saladino was the chosen one as he's the best defensive SS of the group as that was also intended to light a fire under Arcia as well.

 

I believe Dubon is the SS of the future and the Brewers will package Arcia at the deadline as he's about to turn 25, has 3yrs of relatively cheap control, is a good defender at minimum and has flashed the ability to easily be a top half MLB SS. I think Dubon sits in AAA playing SS every night until he's needed to play every night at the MLB level. I believe Dubon's bat profile is underrated and that he has plus potential. I think it's very realistic for him, as a rookie, to post or exceed Arcia's 2017 line, which is also Arcia's best season to date by far, then improve from there. Dubon/Hiura cost controlled for 6yrs up the middle can provide a signfiicant offensive boost to the team. Outside of a few mental hiccups forcing throws Hiura has shown he can handle 2b just fine. Dubon we haven't seen too much of other than highlights, which obviously make everyone look good, but all reports have forever said he's plenty capable of playing both spots up the middle while having the arm as well.

[Wahoo Maniac]

Saladino might have a small 2019 MLB sample size. But his overall MLB sample size is not small. Now over 1000 plate appearances. .230/.281/.334/.614. At nearly 30 years old, I very much doubt that he will be a late-bloomer with the bat.

Saladino is getting shafted here as there's no context provided. Perez had 700 PA heading into 2017 and since then he's slashed 253/288/687 spanning around 960 PA.

 

Saladino has 1007 career PA. 254 PA were his rookie season/first exposure to MLB (2015). Another 281 PA (2017) he had that finger/hand injury or whatever it was that literally affected everything he did where he couldn't even feel the ball if I recall correctly so got shut down (28% of his career here resulting in 33 OPS+). That's 53% of his career right there between being a rookie and injured. His 2016 and 2018, when healthy, he's easily outperformed Perez offensively (271/317/751) and is clearly better defensively. I find it odd that people are trying to defend the Perez DFA and calling for Saladino to be replaced after only 3 starts when he's clearly the better player. Replaceable, yes, but better nonetheless as we saw it last year when he, not Perez, was handed the starting SS job when Arcia went to AAA.

[bill hAll Star]

To add to the post above, a lot of Saladino's exposure to the majors was in the pre-juiced ball era.

 

Perez has played a ton in the juiced ball era (2nd half of 2016 through 2018) and has also gotten the benefit of, but has not taken advantage of, the double juiced ball era (2019).

[jerichoholicninja]

We're talking two guys who always have been and almost certainly always will be 25th men. Flip a coin between the two, I doubt it really makes a difference.

[markedman5]

[clancyphile]

 

Glad he is still with the Crew.

[Wahoo Maniac]

We're talking two guys who always have been and almost certainly always will be 25th men. Flip a coin between the two, I doubt it really makes a difference.

If it doesn't make a difference then they wouldn't have DFA'd Perez. His lack of production and inability to improve over the past several years speaks volumes. He is who he is and that's fine but it's not going to play well with a team like the Brewers at this point in time. Saladino and Dubon are the only players in the org, after Arcia, that are MLB ready. The next best SS is Turang in A ball as there's nobody in A+/AA who's remotely close to being a MLB talent. Cutting Perez was a blow to the MLB SS depth in this org, which says even more about their thoughts on him as a player (edit: Perez claimed by nobody. Nobody. So he's back in our AAA and adds to our SS depth again so that's a plus...maybe that was the plan all along - the Brewers believing he wouldn't be claimed and they could keep him so it's almost as if they optioned him). Saladino will show, again, that he's better than Perez. He just needs that first hit to get rolling again.

[adambr2]

We're talking two guys who always have been and almost certainly always will be 25th men. Flip a coin between the two, I doubt it really makes a difference.

 

This. They're both journeyman mediocre players, comparing the two is splitting hairs.

 

If Saladino is so much better, why was Perez even tendered this year? Why not just roll with Saladino and save the tender on Perez?

 

They likely made the switch because Saladino has more roster flexibility with the option and because he loses that next season I doubt he'll be back. It's not because Saladino is some obviously better option than Perez.

[patrickgpe]

 

Glad he is still with the Crew.

not necessarily, i believe he can still reject the assignment.

[folly412]

 

Glad he is still with the Crew.

 

I'm good with hitting the undo button if Saladino goes 0-fer with terrible ABs again tonight.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

 

Glad he is still with the Crew.

not necessarily, i believe he can still reject the assignment.

 

I don't think the Brewers would have announced the outright had he not accepted the assignment.

[NYChez]

Perez will be back in Milwaukee in September, right?

[Wahoo Maniac]

We're talking two guys who always have been and almost certainly always will be 25th men. Flip a coin between the two, I doubt it really makes a difference.

 

This. They're both journeyman mediocre players, comparing the two is splitting hairs.

 

If Saladino is so much better, why was Perez even tendered this year? Why not just roll with Saladino and save the tender on Perez?

 

They likely made the switch because Saladino has more roster flexibility with the option and because he loses that next season I doubt he'll be back. It's not because Saladino is some obviously better option than Perez.

I don't recall anybody saying Saladino is head and shoulders significantly better than Perez. To answer your question, nobody knows unless the Brewers say so publicly, which they won't. But I'll give it a shot anyway. Perhaps its as simple as Perez being loved by his teammates and coaches, being a great clubhouse presence, bringing a great attitude every day and playing 7 positions. He did that for several years until Moose was acquired last deadline. Having Gamel (option remaining) covering all 3 OF spots, Pina and Aguilar/Thames splitting 1b/bench it allowed them to carry 1 more player hence Perez given what he's done since he arrived. If Gamel wasn't performing then he could have been optioned with Perez taking that 4th OF spot. Thames is performing well again and Aguilar doesn't have options either but his offensive ability is clearly better than Perez's. So it made sense to have Perez start the year as if he could have improved over his previous 2yrs and got closer to his 2016 performance then all would have been well. But he continued to be the same player he's been the 2yrs prior. Also, if Perez wasn't tendered and wasn't here this year with Saladino taking his place from day one then that only leaves Dubon as a MLB ready SS in this org so depth would have been cut right off the bat.

 

First and foremost, Saladino is a much better IF defender than Perez. Offensively, he's shown to have the ability to be a better bat as well. It doesn't matter if it's slightly or significantly. Better is better. Especially when you factor in the defensive aspect.

 

I agree that Saladino most likely isn't here next year but maybe he is and maybe he's DFA'd like Perez if he doesn't perform well. Either way, the main underlying point I've been trying to make is Perez is very expendable and there's no legitimate reason (performance wise that is) for anybody to be upset he's gone and start complaining about Saladino after 3 games. Perez will be back up later this year anyway and so will Shaw for that matter.

[adambr2]

Perez won't be on the 40 anymore, so I don't think it's a slam dunk that he'll be back in September.

 

If they have 40 man spots open after September I think they probably prioritize some other guys over bringing Perez back. I agree he's very expendable and I don't see the point in adding him then barring injuries.

[NYChez]

Does Perez become a free agent this offseason if he’s not put back on the 40-man roster?

[djoctagone]

Does Perez become a free agent this offseason if he’s not put back on the 40-man roster?

yes.

[JosephC]

Saladino hit .324/.359/.622/.981 in 37 MLB at-bats in May of last year. Then Saladino got a whole bunch of playing time in July after Arcia got sent down, and could only muster a pitiful .224/.303/.284/.587 over that stretch. Maybe he'll prove to be a late bloomer, but I tend to think the guy is a glove first guy that just can't hit. Just like Perez. A glove first guy that can't hit. If I were to have any preference of one over the other, I probably would lean Perez only because he is adequate when facing LHP (career .735 OPS). I will also make the big assumption that Perez is probably a better outfielder, and that gives him an advantage when a 13-pitcher team elects to only carry four "true" outfielders. But of course that will not be a factor next year when the rosters go to 26, as almost every team will probably just go with a 13 pitcher, 2 catcher, 6 infielder, 5 outfielder configuration. But I'm not going to believe Saladino will prove to be a better offensive player because I don't think there is sufficient evidence that the guy can hit MLB pitching over the long haul. And I'm also not going to get wound up about the Brewers choosing Saladino over Perez, because in the end I think both of them are glove first guys that can't hit.

[rickh150]

 

I’m shocked by this move and it might upset some of the Latin players...

 

Maybe "upset some of his friends" would be a better take.

[JohnBriggs12]

Saladino hit .324/.359/.622/.981 in 37 MLB at-bats in May of last year. Then Saladino got a whole bunch of playing time in July after Arcia got sent down, and could only muster a pitiful .224/.303/.284/.587 over that stretch. Maybe he'll prove to be a late bloomer, but I tend to think the guy is a glove first guy that just can't hit. Just like Perez. A glove first guy that can't hit. If I were to have any preference of one over the other, I probably would lean Perez only because he is adequate when facing LHP (career .735 OPS). I will also make the big assumption that Perez is probably a better outfielder, and that gives him an advantage when a 13-pitcher team elects to only carry four "true" outfielders. But of course that will not be a factor next year when the rosters go to 26, as almost every team will probably just go with a 13 pitcher, 2 catcher, 6 infielder, 5 outfielder configuration. But I'm not going to believe Saladino will prove to be a better offensive player because I don't think there is sufficient evidence that the guy can hit MLB pitching over the long haul. And I'm also not going to get wound up about the Brewers choosing Saladino over Perez, because in the end I think both of them are glove first guys that can't hit.

 

Saladino has a much more extensive record in the big leagues than his time with the Brewers. He played in 249 games with the White Sox. He's got a .614 OPS in over 1,000 career plate appearances and just 17 career HR. Perez' career OPS is .671. He's got 42 career HR in 1,700 career PA. It's confounding that Brewers thought replacing Perez with Saladino would boost their offense. My guess is Perez will perform to the level Saladino was in AAA.

[Pugger]

 

Glad he is still with the Crew.

not necessarily, i believe he can still reject the assignment.

 

I think he accepted the assignment seeing nobody else claimed him (that must sting for him).

[djoctagone]

with tyler saladino optioned today, the brewers do not have a true backup shortstop.

 

saladino must remain optioned for at least 10 days.

 

perez has been hitting well with san antonio.

 

one has to wonder if his contract will be selected shortly . . .