The Kansas City Royals would seem to have plenty of pitching depth heading into spring training, but it never hurts to add more if they think a certain pitcher has something to offer.
Left-handed pitcher Andrew Peréz spent the last two seasons out of Minor League Baseball, throwing in the Mexican League in the summers and the Dominican Winter League in the offseason. But the Royals must have liked whatever they saw from the former Chicago White Sox prospect.
A Dominican-based outlet called Banda Azul, which covers Licey, the team that Pérez played for in the Dominican Winter League, reported that Pérez had signed with the Royals. Pérez reposted the tweet, and American-based outlet MiLB Central reported the deal as well.
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What Pérez brings to Royals
Jul 30, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A Kansas City Royals hat and glove in the dugout during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Pérez, 28, was an eighth-round pick for the White Sox out of the University of South Florida. He pitched in 191 games for the organization, all but two of which were relief appearances.
In 267 2/3 innings in affiliated ball, Pérez posted a 4.20 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. He racked up a lot of strikeouts (315 of them, to be exact), but walked 111 batters and surrendered 256 hits.
Pérez reached Triple-A in the White Sox organization in 2022 and 2023, but was released at the end of spring training in 2024.
None of his sample sizes in Mexico or the Dominican Republic were very large, but he had two rough stints in the former and two very good ones in the latter. With Licey, he pitched to a 1.84 ERA in 14 2/3 innings last year and a 2.45 ERA in 7 1/3 innings this year.
Pérez is active on social media, and Royals fans can check out a video of him pitching for Licey in the clip below:
Thankful for @TigresdelLicey
Ready for the next opportunity…
-Free Agent LHR- with AAA/LIDOM/Mexico . Stats/Data available, ready right away.
-Finals for Licey- 5 games out of 7 / 3.1 inn/1 Hit/2.70 era/.3 whip
-Reg Season- 19 app/14.2 inn-1.84 era
2SM/4Sm/SL… pic.twitter.com/9t24sSPHW8
— Andrew Perez (@EL_PlatanoPerez) January 28, 2025
Only time will tell if Royals fans get the chance to see Pérez pitch at the major league level, but it would be a cool story of perseverance if it were to happen.
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