Sticking with the backstops, our victim for today’s Season In Review is Jhonny Pereda. The 29-year-old catcher got a decent look in the big leagues with the A’s but he just couldn’t hit enough to hold
down a roster spot all year and he ultimately finished the season with a different team.
How Was He Acquired?
Pereda, a former international signee out of Venezuela, was designated for assignment on January 28th last offseason by the Miami Marlins. The A’s, still looking for a more proven backup catcher to Shea Langeliers, decided to roll the dice on Pereda, acquiring him in a minor trade in exchange for cash considerations.
What Were The Expectations?
Brought aboard in a minor trade there wasn’t a lot of fanfare when the A’s announced the acquisition of Pereda. While he’d already made his big league debut the year prior it was a small sample of just 20 games with Miami, and his first action in the big leagues went rough to say the least. The right-handed hitter had done well with the bat as he ascended the minor league ladder but wasn’t expected to be a major source of production behind the plate. Still, he was more experienced than fellow backstop Willie MacIver and that likely gave him the early edge for the backup role. That and a decent spring would secure the job for him, earning himself a ticket to Seattle to be with the A’s on Opening Day.
2025 Results
Not expected to get much playing time with Langeliers getting most of the starts, Pereda did take advantage of the small playing time he got early on. He started the year going 4-for-17 and looking like a decent enough backup catcher through the first month of the season. He also made a bit of news in mid-May when, taking to the pitcher’s mound in a blowout loss, struck out mega superstar Shohei Ohtani:
I would have kept that ball too.
May came around and while he got some more playing time, his bat began to fall off hard. So hard that the team decided to shake things up, demoting Pereda back to Triple-A and swapping him out with MacIver. With the Aviators Pereda began to pick things up, taking advantage of the friendly hitter environment to post some solid numbers for Las Vegas. With MacIver struggling in the big leagues now too, the team decided to give another look at Pereda, hoping that his hot hitting in the minors over two weeks could carry back with him rejoining the A’s.
That was not to be the case. Pereda stuck with the A’s for just a few more days before the club went out and acquired Austin Wynns to serve as the new backup to Langeliers. The A’s were clearly not happy with either Pereda or MacIver and decided to go in a different direction. Pereda spent one more month in the system before the front office designated him for assignment on July 19th. The Minnesota Twins would place the winning claim for Pereda, plucking him out of the A’s system and thinning the upper level depth for the A’s. His time in Minnesota went much better than his time with the A’s as he impressed his new club in 11 games. He’d finish the year with a .246/.325/.333 with no home runs in 30 games split between the Athletics and Twins.
2026 Outlook
Pereda remains with the Twins now, though he’s not on their 40-man roster. That means Pereda will likely be ticketed to start the year in the minors but he’s the next man up if an injury occurs. That’s likely the only way Pereda makes it back to the big leagues with Minnesota as they have two catchers that are better. The Twins are also in a rebuild of their own and while Pereda is only 29 years old he’s not likely in their long-term plans. He could find himself on another team (or teams) before the 2026 season wraps up.
