Cubs sign infielder Hernan Perez to minor-league deal

Last July, when the Brewers designated Hernan Perez for assignment, I wrote that they should have claimed him. Basically, at the time I figured he’d be a better player for the team than Daniel Descalso (low bar to hurdle, obviously).

They didn’t do it, he eventually cleared waivers and was assigned to the Brewers’ Triple-A squad. They brought him back to the major leagues in August.

Six months later, I got my wish. Perez has always been a versatile performer in Milwaukee and now he’ll get a shot at making the Cubs roster:

Perez can play all infield and outfield positions, and is a true shortstop, which could be useful to the Cubs. They really haven’t had a suitable backup shortstop in a while. At the very least, Perez isn’t a great hitter — lifetime .252/.282/.387 with 45 home runs and 69 stolen bases in 638 career games and 1,819 at-bats — but his versatility would make him more useful than Descalso.

Like the signing of Brandon Morrow, this is a very low-risk, high possible reward signing. If Perez comes to spring training and shows nothing, he can be released at no cost. If he’s the player who was a useful backup for the Brewers from 2016-18, he’d probably be signed to a low-cost major-league deal.

For whatever it’s worth, Perez is a lifetime .282/.304/.400 hitter in Wrigley Field (31-for-110) with four home runs. Two of his eight homers last year were off Jose Quintana at Wrigley. If nothing else, maybe he can tell Q what he was doing wrong.