CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a previous story.
The offseason is underway for the Cleveland Guardians and they made a few official moves on Friday morning.
The Guardians announced on Friday that they declined the option on catcher Roberto Pérez, meaning he will be a free agent.
This ends an eight-year run for Pérez in Cleveland that mostly saw him as a part-time player. When he initially joined the team, he was the backup catcher to Yan Gomes, before ultimately becoming the team’s full-time starter during the 2019 season.
That 2019 season was Pérez’s best in Cleveland. That year, he hit .239 with a career-best 24 home runs and 63 runs batted in. He also won the first of two straight gold gloves, as he threw out 41 percent of attempted base stealers. He then topped that number by nabbing 71 percent of attempted base stealers in the shortened 2020 season. Both numbers led the league. The 2019 season was the only season in which he played over 100 games.
Pérez’s contract option was worth $7 million for this season, and declining his option comes with a $650,000 buyout that the franchise must pay. This move became a much more likely one as Pérez only played in 44 games this past season due to injury, and catcher Austin Hedges showed he’s capable of being the team’s starter.
The Guardians also made a couple of other moves official, picking up the option of third baseman José Ramírez for the 2022 season -- which was first reported Thursday. The team also named Chris Valaika as its hitting coach.
Valaika most recently served as the assistant major league hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs last season, and prior to that was the organization's minor league hitting coordinator for a pair of seasons.