Delvin Pérez Dippini (born November 24, 1998) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball infielder who is a free agent.

Delvin Pérez
Pérez in 2019 with the Peoria Chiefs
Free agent
Infielder
Born: (1998-11-24) November 24, 1998 (age 25)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Amateur career

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Pérez attended the International Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. He started playing shortstop at 14–15 years old after starting out as a pitcher.[1] During the fall of 2015 he played in the World Wood Bat Association World Championship in Jupiter, Florida.

Pérez was considered one of the top prospects for the 2016 Major League Baseball draft, being compared to Carlos Correa.[2][3][4] Leading up to the draft he received help from former MLB player Carlos Delgado.[5] Prior to the 2016 MLB draft, Pérez won the Most Valuable Player award in the Víctor Pellot Excellence Tournament, guiding his team to the championship by batting .556 (including several extra-base hits) and leading the tournament in RBIs and runs scored before the highest ranked prospects in Puerto Rico.[6][7]

On the first day of the draft, media reports claimed that Pérez had failed a drug test for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). His agent, Melvin Román, was vocal in denouncing the news as gossip and insisted that his client had not failed any tests.[8] Pérez was selected 23rd overall in the first round by the St. Louis Cardinals in the draft.[9]

Professional career

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St. Louis Cardinals

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After signing, Pérez made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Cardinals where he batted .294 with a .745 OPS and 12 stolen bases.[10] In 2017, Pérez began the season with the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie-level Appalachian League.[11] However, after slashing only .140/.275/.186 in 13 games, he was demoted back to the Gulf Coast League.[12] He returned to Johnson City in late July. In 34 total games between both clubs, he batted .203 with nine RBIs and five stolen bases. He spent 2018 with the State College Spikes of the Low–A New York–Penn League, batting .213 with one home run, 21 RBIs, and eight stolen bases over 64 games.[13] Pérez spent 2019 with the Peoria Chiefs of the Single–A Midwest League, with whom he was named an All-Star.[14][15] Over 118 games, he slashed .269/.329/.325 with one home run, thirty RBIs, and 22 stolen bases.[16]

Pérez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[17] Over the 2020-21 offseason, Pérez gained over twenty pounds and changed his diet, attributing his struggles throughout his professional career to his "skinny" figure.[18] He spent the 2021 season with the Springfield Cardinals of the Double-A Central, slashing .265/.322/.339 with four home runs, 23 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases over 98 games.[19] He returned to Springfield to begin the 2022 season.[20] He elected free agency following the season on November 10, 2022.[21]

New York Yankees

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On December 26, 2022, Pérez signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees.[22] In 19 games for the Double–A Somerset Patriots, he struggled to a .170/.296/.305 batting line with 2 home runs, 5 RBI, and 9 stolen bases. On July 13, Pérez was released by the Yankees organization.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Prospecto boricua con etiqueta de primera ronda" [Puerto Rican prospect with first-round label]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). January 31, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  2. ^ "Puerto Rico showcase notes: Draft prospect Delvin Perez the real deal". espn.com. January 16, 2016.
  3. ^ "Joven boricua se coloca entre los mejores prospectos de Grandes Ligas". primerahora.com. December 3, 2015.
  4. ^ Footer, Alyson (January 13, 2016). "Delvin Perez an elite Puerto Rican SS prospect". MLB.com. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  5. ^ Rios, Antolin Maldonado (April 30, 2016). "Sube el 'valor' de Delvin Pérez en el sorteo de las Mayores" [Delvin Perez's 'value' rises in the Major League draft]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "La Big League vuelve a dominar el Torneo de Excelencia" [The Big League dominates the Tournament of Excellence again]. El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). May 10, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  7. ^ Bryan Eloy García (May 11, 2016). "Delvin Pérez encabeza los valores del Torneo Excelencia" (in Spanish). BuzzerBeater.com. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  8. ^ Álvarez, Karla Pacheco (June 10, 2016). "Feliz Delvin Pérez de ser escogido por los Cardenales". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  9. ^ "Cardinals draft SS Delvin Perez at No. 23". ESPN. June 10, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  10. ^ Goold, Derrick (March 21, 2017). "Goold: Cards prospect Perez inspired by Puerto Rico's success in WBC". STLtoday.com. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  11. ^ Avento, Joe (June 19, 2017). "Espinoza ready to manage Johnson City Cardinals". Johnson City Press. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  12. ^ Stephens, Jack (July 12, 2017). "No reason to panic for Delvin Perez". NBC 5 KSDK. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  13. ^ "Cardinals understood the risk when they drafted Delvin Perez; they are still waiting on the reward". March 12, 2019.
  14. ^ "Where will Nolan Gorman and other Cardinals top prospects be as the minor-league season begins?". ksdk.com. April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  15. ^ "Midwest League Announces 2019 All-Star Game Rosters". WILX. South Bend Cubs. June 5, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  16. ^ Rains, Rob (February 21, 2021). "Here are the new faces in Cardinals camp for 2021". NBC 5 KSDK. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  17. ^ Adler, David (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  18. ^ Goold, Derrick (March 8, 2021). "'I want to prove them wrong': Cardinals first-rounder Perez, former 'skinny guy,' adds might to shed doubts". St. Louis Today. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  19. ^ "Springfield Cardinals announce 2021 preliminary Opening Day roster". Ozarks Sports Zone. April 30, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  20. ^ "Pipeline isn't loaded, but several top-end prospects could help the Cardinals soon". April 3, 2022.
  21. ^ "2022-23 Minor League Free Agents For All 30 MLB Teams". baseballamerica.com. November 13, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  22. ^ "Transactions for January 5, 2023". MiLB.com. January 5, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  23. ^ "Transactions for July 13, 2023". MiLB.com. July 13, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
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