During the Talons' Brewster winning campaign, Perez had a career best season and was instrumental in the title effort. He slashed .344/.386/.596, amassed 6.1 WAR, and even stole 20 bases for the first time. His efforts garnered him a sixth-year arb award of $11.75 million for 2065. And, of course, having a career year for a championship team was definitely on the mind of Perez' agent, who proposed a contract extension offer that was very much not a part of Phoenix's future plans, to say the least.
Therefore, since he was essentially one and done anyway, the club decided to put the outfielder on the market. A number of teams came calling, but in the end it was the division rival Aztecs who came away with the prize. Coming back to the Talons are two prospects: SP Jose Salinas and OF Mark 'VODAK' Filmer. 22 year old starter Salinas could figure into the Talons rotation as soon as 2066, while Filmer, being a 17 year old IFA, is a longer term project, though early indications are that he should be able to hold his own in Rookie League this season.
Taking over for Perez in the Talons outfield will be the talented 22 year old Mitsuhide Mori, who is excited to finally play a full season and, fortuitously, is already ranked #3 among all RF in the BBA, as least according to the BNN positional rankings. The minor league signing of former GBC star Michael Buckley also provides a measure of backup in RF as well. "We feel that Mori will essentially pick up right where Perez left off," one club official said. "So the impact to the major league club will be minimal, in our estimation."
Go Talons!
