Giants add catching depth, sign Gold Glove winner Perez
With Joey Bart and Austin Wynns as the only players in the Giants organization who had caught a game in the major leagues, and just Bart on the 40-man roster, addressing the depth behind the plate was one of the last items left on Farhan Zaidi's offseason to-do list.
San Francisco reportedly checked that box Sunday afternoon, agreeing to terms with 34-year-old catcher Roberto Perez, according to Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox beat reporter for MassLive.com. He had first reported that Boston was in talks with the veteran backstop. The club has yet to announce the move.
The terms of the agreement have not yet been reported. Earlier this month, Zaidi said it was “unlikely” the Giants would add another catcher on a major league deal, though Cotillo reported that Boston made an “aggressive” push. Perez signed a $5 million contract with the Pirates before last season but underwent season-ending surgery on his hamstring in May.
Before health troubles the past two seasons (a fractured finger and a strained shoulder also cost him time in 2021), Perez was considered one of the top defensive catchers in baseball. He was a back-to-back winner of the Gold Glove and the more analytically inclined Fielding Bible awards in 2019 and 2020.
In his best season, with Cleveland in 2019, he hit .239 with 24 home runs in 389 at-bats. However, he has mostly been unable to replicate that offensive success, with four seasons of sub-.200 batting averages and a career batting line of .207/.298/.360 (a .658 OPS) in nine MLB seasons.
Selected by Cleveland 33rd overall in the 2008 amateur draft, Perez spent his entire professional career in the same organization before signing with the Pirates last season. He now joins a San Francisco catching group that includes Bart, Wynns and Rule 5 acquisition Blake Sabol competing for two or three spots on the 26-man Opening Day roster.
YANKEES, TORRES AGREE TO $9.95 MILLION, 1-YEAR DEAL >> The New York Yankees agreed to a $9.95 million, one-year contract with Gleyber Torres, avoiding an arbitration hearing with the infielder.
Torres, 26, hit .257 with 24 homers and 76 RBIs in 140 games for the AL East champions last year. HARRISON AGREES TO SIGN WITH PHILLIES >> Free-agent infielder Josh Harrison and the Philadelphia Phillies reached agreement on a one-year deal, his MSM Sports agency announced.
Harrison, 35, batted .272 with
seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 119 games for the Chicago White Sox last season.
The former A's player spent most of his time last year at second base and third base, with brief stints in the outfield and at shortstop.
College football
GEORGIA QB ARRESTED FOR PUBLIC INTOXICATION >> Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, who led the Bulldogs to their second straight national championship, was arrested early Sunday in Dallas after police said he was intoxicated and banging on doors.
Bennett, 25, was charged with public intoxication and taken to the city detention center, Dallas police said.
Police said that at about 6:10 a.m., officers responded to reports of a man banging on doors. The location given by police was a community of townhomes near downtown Dallas.
Last week, Bennett told reporters that he would be training for his pro career in Fort Worth, Texas, which is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Dallas.
Video from WFAA-TV showed Bennett leaving the detention center on Sunday just before 11 a.m. He did not say anything as he got into a vehicle.
Earlier this month, Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores in the first half as No. 1 Georgia demolished No. 3 TCU 65-7 to win the College Football Playoff national championship.
Winter sports
SHIFFRIN BEATEN IN SLALOM, MUST WAIT FOR RECORD >> Mikaela Shiffrin will have to wait for at least five more weeks before tying the World Cup record for most career wins with 86.
The American skier finished second in a slalom in the Czech Republic and remained one victory short of Ingemar Stenmark's total on the alltime overall winners list among men and women.The Swede competed in the 1970s and `80s.
Shiffrin's next chance will be in
March when she resumes World Cup racing after the Feb. 6-19 world championships in France. World championship races do not count toward World Cup wins.
“I don't have any expectations going into it,” Shiffrin said about her next World Cup event, which will be either speed races in Kvitfjell, Finland on March 4-5 or tech races in Are, Sweden the following week.
“It's just like every race of the season, trying to take it all in and enjoy – enjoy my skiing, enjoy when the other athletes are skiing better. Because there is always some to learn from that.”
Shiffrin had broken a tie on the all-time women's list with former American teammate Lindsey Vonn last Tuesday. Vonn had 82 wins when she retired in 2019.
Lena Dürr edged Shiffrin by 0.06 seconds to notch her second World Cup victory, coming 10 years to the day after she won a city event in Moscow.
Shiffrin, however, still set a record Sunday.
Her second place saw her wrap up the season-long slalom title with two races to spare.
Her closest challenger in the discipline standings, Wendy Holdener, had a costly mistake in the opening run and the Swiss skier failed to qualify for the second run and didn't score World Cup points.
It made Shiffrin the first woman to win seven season titles in slalom, surpassing Swiss standout Vreni Schneider, who won it six times in the 1980s and '90s.
Golf
MCILROY SHOOTS 65, HAS 3-SHOT LEAD IN DUBAI >> Rory McIlroy delivered an exhibition of short iron play to shoot 7-under 65 in his third round and build a three-stroke lead at the Dubai Desert Classic.
The top-ranked McIlroy made eight birdies at Emirates Golf Club — four in a row from No. 1, three straight from No. 13, and another at No. 17 — and none of the birdie putts were from more than 7 feet.
“I drove the ball better today, which put me in better positions to attack and make birdies,” said the Northern Irishman, making his first start of 2023. “It's nearly there, not quite there, but I'm making the most of the good shots that I'm hitting and putting well. I'm just playing really efficient golf right now.”
McIlroy was 15 under overall, with English players Callum Shinkwin (67) and No. 484-ranked Dan Bradbury (68) tied for second place.
The tournament is finishing today after bad weather cut short play on the opening two days.