Welcome Back Timo Perez

A very interesting nugget passed along by Mark Anderson of TigsTown via twitter today. Mark keeps us all updated on minor league transaction year-round. Ordinarily, the names he mentions are only vaguely familiar, if at all, to me. Today brought a welcome surprise. The Tigers have signed OF Timo Perez to a minor league deal.

Perez, last seen in the majors with the Tigers in 2007, has spent the past couple of years toiling in the Mexican leagues before latching on with the Phillies and Dodgers organizations last year. Perez will be 36 years old just after the season starts, but his bat hasn’t slowed down. In nine minor league seasons, Perez has a career .317/.373/.423/.856 line. His two best professional seasons came while playing for the MudHens in 2007 and 2008. In each year, he matched his career high with 13 home runs.

Perez has played in parts of eight seasons in the majors since making his debut with the Mets in 2000. Perez received 96 plate appearances with the Tigers in ’07, collecting 11 extra-base hits and posting a .389 average and .960 OPS.

Now, before I get too excited (Rogo will be elated, however), we are still talking about Timo Perez here. He hasn’t even been invited to big league camp. Perez will find at bats in either Toledo or Erie, depending on where the Tigers have a need. He’s not a threat to make the club, and probably won’t be in line for a major league gig at any point during the season.

Regardless, it’s nice to see a personal favorite still plugging away, even without ever tasting much major league success. It’s also nice to have him back with the Tigers organization. Welcome back, Timoniel.

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