Marlins Select Jhonny Pereda

The Marlins announced they’ve selected catcher Jhonny Pereda onto the major league roster. He fills in for Christian Bethancourt, who is headed to the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 14, as he battles a viral illness. Miami already has an opening on the 40-man roster after designating Matt Andriese for assignment over the weekend.

It’s an early birthday gift for Pereda, who turns 28 on Thursday. He reaches the big leagues for the first time after more than a decade in the minor leagues. The Venezuela native initially signed with the Cubs during the 2012-13 international amateur period. He got to Double-A in the Chicago system six years later before being traded to the Red Sox. Pereda didn’t reach the majors in Boston and became a minor league free agent after the 2021 season.

The right-handed hitter has bounced around via minor league free agency over the past few years. He spent 2022 in Triple-A with the Giants and joined the Reds last season. Pereda turned in an excellent .325/.405/.468 batting line in 68 games with Cincinnati’s Triple-A team but never got an MLB call. He inked another minor league pact — this time with the Fish — in January.

Miami assigned Pereda to Triple-A Jacksonville. He has played in eight games, collecting nine hits and five walks over his first 32 plate appearances. That brings his career slash at the top minor league level to a strong .294/.383/.404 in parts of four seasons. That was enough to make him the first one up in the event of an injury or illness to either of the catchers on Miami’s active roster.

Bethancourt and Nick Fortes had been the only backstops on the 40-man roster. With Bethancourt needing some time off, the Fish had to go to a non-roster player to back Fortes up. Pereda will fill that role for at least a week, likely getting a chance to make his MLB debut in the process. Neither Fortes nor Bethancourt has contributed much for the Marlins as they’ve limped to a 3-13 start. Miami has gotten by far the worst production in the league out of their catchers thus far: an .063/.100/.083 line over 51 trips to the plate.

Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase first reported the Marlins were selecting Pereda and placing Bethancourt on the IL.