Yankees Sign ex-Mets IF José Peraza

Peraza signed a minor league contract with the Yankees on Monday.

While other teams were handing out multimillion-dollar deals on Monday, the Yankees made a move that may have flown under the radar.

New York signed infielder José Peraza to a minor league contract. The seven-year veteran played in 64 games for the Mets in 2021, slashing .204/.266/.380 with six homers and 20 RBI over 64 games. Peraza, 27, has also spent time with the Dodgers, Reds and Red Sox.

It's a new game. José Peraza just crushed a game-tying homer off Brewers all-everything closer Josh Hader.

Mets 2, Brewers 2, bottom seven. pic.twitter.com/2qNb5GsjZt

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 7, 2021

Peraza has experience playing every position except catcher and first base (yes, that includes pitcher). He has logged more innings at shortstop than any other place on the diamond, though second base has been his top position more recently. The Yankees were in need of organizational depth up the middle of their infield after the losses of Andrew Velazquez and Tyler Wade.

READ: Did the Yankees Make a Mistake Trading Tyler Wade?

Peraza, a Venezuelan native, was once considered a top-100 prospect, though he hasn’t lived up to those expectations. He was part of not one, but two, three-team trades in 2015.

Peraza is a .266/.306/.372 slasher with 35 home runs, 182 RBI and 79 stolen bases over 618 career games. He’s stolen more than 20 bases in a season three times, though he has just two swipes over the last two years. 

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