Guardians catcher who became postseason star in 2016 calls it a career

While Roberto Pérez was never the biggest name on any of the Guardians’ teams that he was on, he always seemed to serve as the team’s heartbeat on the diamond and in the clubhouse. 

And even though he hasn’t appeared in a big league game since 2023, his time making an impact in MLB came to an end earlier this week via his official retirement, which he announced on Instagram. 

Although Pérez’s time with Cleveland came to a bit of an unceremonious end after the 2021 season, he’ll always be held in high regard in Cleveland thanks to his heroics in the 2016 postseason and his strong 2019. 

Roberto Pérez had an incredibly impactful career with the Guardians

Pérez’s time with the Guardians started in 2008 when Cleveland picked him in the 33rd round of the MLB Draft, and he made his eventual debut late in the 2014 season. 

That kicked off an eight year partnership where Pérez served as the team’s primary backup catcher. Most of that time was spent behind Yan Gomes, though he did spend one year serving as Austin Hedges’ backup after the Guardians acquired him from the Padres. 

While Pérez hit just .207 throughout his career, he was one of the game’s best defensive catchers during this time on the diamond, and won back-to-back Gold Gloves in 2019 and ‘20. 

The highlight of his time with Cleveland came in that aforementioned 2016 postseason when he crushed four home runs in the Guardians’ quest toward the World Series. Two of those home runs came in Game 1 of the World Series in an eventual Cleveland win. 

Pérez was already on the path toward becoming a fan favorite (the backup catcher usually is), but his performance against the Cubs solidifed him as a Cleveland sports staple.

His best overall season came in 2019 when he set career-highs in batting average (.239), home runs (24), and RBI (63). Forty-three percent of Pérez’s career home runs came during that season. 

He didn’t do much at the plate in 2020 and ‘21, which is one of the biggest reasons why the Guardians ended up restructuring their catching situation not long after Pérez left.

While that can be hard to remember sometimes thanks to Bo Naylor, there was once a point where the Guardians’ catching situation was among baseball’s worst. 

Pérez left Cleveland in 2021 and joined the Pirates for one season, where he slugged two home runs through 21 games and had an OPS+ of 99 before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury. 

He signed with the Giants a year later but only appeared in five games before suffering a rotator  cuff injury that ended his season and (eventually) his big league career.