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Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that the Mets have brought back veteran catcher Michael Pérez on a minor league deal. Pérez will act as depth in Triple-A Syracuse for the Mets.
Pérez, 30, was claimed off waivers by the Mets from the Pirates on July 23 of last year and made his Mets debut in August. The left-handed hitter went 2-for-14 with three RBIs and six strikeouts in for the Mets last season. He also went just 16-for-107 with six home runs for Pirates, giving him a combined .511 OPS for the 2022 season. The former fifth round pick has a career 50 OPS+ in 591 plate appearances.
Defensively, Pérez has been a below-average framer each season he’s played in the majors according to Baseball Savant. His pop time was in the 20th percentile in the 2022 season.
The Mets also signed right-hander Humberto Mejia to a minor league deal per Jacob Resnick of MLB Pipeline. The 25-year-old made his major league debut in 2020 at Citi Field allowing one run in 2 2/3 innings against the Mets. Mejia has a 6.68 ERA in eight big league starts combined between 2020 and 2021.
Mejia spent most of the 2022 season pitching in Mexico after the Arizona Diamondbacks released him from their Triple-A squad in May when he had an ERA over 9.00.
