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Houston Astros trade Cionel Perez to the Reds
The Astros have made another trade with the Reds.
On Saturday, the Houston Astros traded left-handed pitcher Cionel Perez to the Cincinatti Reds in exchange for minor-league catcher Luke Berryhill. This trade came two days after the Astros re-signed Jason Castro and Michael Brantley. While Houston designated RHP Humberto Castellanos for assignment on Friday for Castro to join the 40-man roster, they traded Perez to free a roster spot for Brantley.
Perez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Astros in 2016 out of Cuba. Since then, the left-hander made a quick move to the major leagues as his first appearance was in 2018 at the age of 22. Over three seasons, he would appear in 20 games and post a 5.74 ERA. His best stint was in 2020, where the lefty went 6.1 innings with a 2.84 ERA. Perez was among the surplus of relief pitchers that the Astros had been retroacting from the minors to the majors the last couple of years. Now 24, Perez has the chance to make the Reds bullpen as a left-handed specialist.
In return, the Astros received more depth in the prospect catching room. Per MLB Pipeline, the Astros have one catcher in their top ten: Korey Lee. Berryhill doesn’t rank within the Reds top 30 prospects, but that does not mean his future is not something to worry about. The right-hander hit the minors in 2019 while on the Reds’ rookie ball team after being drafted in the 13th round. Berryhill, now 22, played college baseball for Georgia Southern University and University of South Carolina. Through 25 at bats for the Greenville Reds, he hit .240/.344/.400 with one home run and five RBIs. Berryhill is easily a power hitter, but he also walks more than he strikes out. There isn’t enough to fully evaluate his professional career since MiLB didn’t play in 2020. Lastly, one interesting fact about Berryhill is that he plays the guitar and sings country music, which he said he could do after baseball.
GM James Click has now made three trades to the Reds in his Astros tenure including Freddy Medina (PTBNL) for pitcher Brooks Raley; pitcher Brandon Bailey for cash; and now Perez for Berryhill.