Carlos Pérez (catcher, born 1996)

Carlos Jesús Pérez (born September 10, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher in the Chicago White Sox organization. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) for the White Sox in 2023. His brother, Carlos Eduardo Pérez also plays professional baseball.

Career
Pérez signed with the Chicago White Sox as an international free agent in March 2014. He made his professional debut that season with the Dominican Summer League White Sox and also played with the team in 2015. Pérez spent 2016 with the Arizona League White Sox, Great Falls Voyagers and Kannapolis Intimidators. He played 2017 with Great Falls, 2018 with Kannapolis and 2019 with the Winston-Salem Dash.

Pérez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned in 2021 to play for the Birmingham Barons and Charlotte Knights. He returned to Charlotte to start 2022.

On August 21, 2022, Pérez was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time after Yasmani Grandal was placed on the 10-day injured list. On August 27, Pérez collected his first career hit, a single off of Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly.

Pérez was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte to begin the 2023 season after losing the backup catcher job to Seby Zavala. In 27 games for the White Sox, he hit .204/.264/.347 with one home run and three RBI. On December 30, 2023, Pérez was designated for assignment by Chicago to make room on the active roster for the signing of Chris Flexen. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple–A Charlotte on January 4, 2024.