CLEVELAND — When Trevor Bauer, amid flowing champagne in Toronto last week, talked up catcher Roberto Perez as a “multiple-time All-Star” in the making, it was a good quote worth using to highlight an underappreciated player who gives a boost to an excellent pitching staff with his strong defensive work.
Perez was still a guy who hit .183/.285/.294 in 184 plate appearances this season and went 4 for 23 with nine strikeouts through the first two rounds of the playoffs. And it’s not like he’s super young at 27. Multiple-time All-Star? Let it slide as hyperbole for a day, but know that it’s just something said in the exuberance of celebration.