With the fourth-ever World Baseball Classic just four months away, news has begun to trickle in regarding personnel decisions for the sixteen rosters. Some high-profile players like reigning American League Cy Young winner Rick Porcello and New York Mets ace Noah Syndergaard have already stated that they will forgo the event. Others, like Colombian Jose Quintana and Puerto Rican Javier Baez have announced their intentions to play for their home countries.
Full rosters have not yet been established but one more piece of personnel news did surface today – current Atlanta Braves first base coach Eddie Perez will reportedly be named the manager of team Venezuela.
Perez spent the bulk of his 11-year playing career with the Braves and is best known for his stint as Greg Maddux’s personal catcher. In the years since his playing career ended, Perez has served as a coach in the Braves organization. He spent one season as a player-coach in Double-A before becoming the bullpen coach for the major league team back in 2007. Perez remained in that role for the better part of a decade before shifting to first base early in the 2016 season.
In addition to his ongoing work with Atlanta, Perez has served as the manager of multiple Venezuelan Winter League teams. Last offseason, his Tigres de Aragua captured the winter league title.
Throughout his time as a coach, his efforts have not gone unnoticed. His name was bandied about during multiple managerial searches this offseason and he remains a strong candidate to be a manager at the major league level soon. Leading Venezuela in the WBC will just be the latest feather in his cap.
While the decision seems to be a done deal, at the time of this writing, incumbent Venezuelan manager Omar Vizquel has refuted the reports that Perez is taking over the team. Instead, the longtime defensive wizard has insisted that he will stay at the helm for the upcoming event. The Venezuelan Baseball Federation has yet to make an official announcement on the matter.
Scott Ferris covers the Braves as a Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottHFerris
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