Red Sox Reportedly Set To Sign Infielder Jose Peraza
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox have made an offseason move. The team reportedly signed infielder Jose Peraza on Thursday.
Peraza will likely take Brock Holt's spot on the roster as Boston's do-it-all utility man. Robert Murray, formally of The Athletic, was first to report the deal.
The 25-year-old Peraza spent four of his five MLB seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, after starting his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was originally signed by the Atlanta Braves as an amateur free agent in 2010.
For his career, Peraza has slashed .274/.312/.374 with 28 homers, 67 doubles, 154 RBIs and 200 runs scored in 520 games. His best offensive season came in 2018, when he slashed .288/.326/.416 while clubbing 14 home runs, scoring 85 runs and driving in 58 -- all career-highs for Peraza. He doesn't have much pop in his bat, but he doesn't strike out much either, with only 238 strikeouts in his career.
Defensively, Peraza plays just about everywhere around the diamond. Most of his time has come at shortstop, with 281 games under his belt, but he's also seen action at second base (173 games), third base (five games) and in the outfield (41 games in left field and 21 games in center). He played 78 games at second base for Cincinnati in 2019, with another 39 at shortstop and 35 in the outfield. He even made two appearances on the mound, allowing just one hit in 1.1 innings pitched.
According to Jon Heyman, Peraza's deal with Boston is for close to $3 million and incentives.