Hot on the heels of adding to their pitching depth with Cooper Criswell entering the fold, the Mariners have made a small move to bolster their options on the other end of the battery.
Pereda, 30 in mid-April, has played in affiliated ball since 2013 after being signed by the Cubs out of Venezuela. After bouncing around the Red Sox, Giants, and Reds orgs, he made his long-awaited big league debut in 2024 with the Marlins the day before his 28th birthday. Although he slashed .231/.250/.231 over 40 scattered plate appearances, he made a strong first impression behind the plate, throwing out four of eight would-be base stealers. That was enough to draw interest from the A’s, who claimed him from Miami last January and opened the season with him backing up Shea Langeliers. His production at the plate remained lackluster, though, and Oakland Sacramento designated him for assignment in June before he was snapped up by the Twins. Minnesota kept him in Triple-A until September, giving him ample opportunities was they played out the string. While Pereda finished the year on a high note, slashing a sturdy .345/.387/.483 over 32 plate appearances, it wasn’t enough to save his roster spot after the Twins signed fellow catcher Victor Caratini.
Pereda has never been one to show much pop; still searching for his first big league homer, he’s only popped 33 over 3033 career minor league plate appearances. He does, however, bring solid bat-to-ball skills to the table, being punched out in just 15.1% of the time across the minors, and an accompanying 11.8% walk rate suggests he’s no mere hacker. On the defensive side, he brought a sub-two second pop time in MLB in 2025 – good for the 68th percentile – and showed some heads-up decisions, but graded out as an average receiver overall.
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And hey, he did strike out Shohei Ohtani once.
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Crucially, Pereda has one minor league option remaining – doubtlessly a key factor in his acquisition. Cal Raleigh is coming off of one of the best single-seasons in franchise history, and the M’s brought in Andrew Knizner to serve as backup after trading Harry Ford to the Nationals. Before Pereda came aboard, they were the only two catchers on the 40-man roster – not exactly ideal for depth purposes. It’s unlikely that he will see much time in Seattle, but he should slot in as Tacoma’s starting catcher, and would be the first man up if needed.
To make room for Pereda, the M’s designated righty Jackson Kowar for assignment. It was a long road back for Kowar after undergoing Tommy John in March 2024, but he made his Mariners debut on May 28th, tossing 17 mostly low-leverage innings. While Kowar showed flashes of what made him such a promising prospect with the Royals, a lack of minor league options combined with a pedestrian strikeout rate of 21.1% had him on the bubble, especially with the aforementioned Criswell being brought on. There’s still a chance Seattle could outright him and keep him in the org, though, so don’t pronounce the Robinson Canó/Edwin Díaz trade tree dead just yet.
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