Twins claim journeyman catcher Jhonny Pereda off waivers from Athletics, DFA minor league catcher Jair Camargo as corresponding move
#MNTwins claimed C Jhonny Pereda off from the A's an optioned him to Triple-A. Jair Camargo has been DFA'd to make room on the 40-man roster.
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) July 22, 2025
The A’s DFA’d Pereda, 29, on Saturday after he slashed .175/.283/.225 with three RBIs over 46 plate appearances in 19 games for them this season. The Athletics made the move to clear roster space for pitcher Ken Waldichuk, who was activated off the 60-day IL and optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.
As the trade deadline approaches, the Twins may part ways with catcher Christian Vázquez, who will be a free agent after this season, and call up Pereda.
Pereda, who signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs in 2013, made his MLB debut last season. He appeared in 20 games for the Miami Marlins last year, hitting .231/.250/.231 with four RBIs in 40 plate appearances.
Pereda, who has a career .262/.350/.349 slash line with 31 homers in 2,946 minor league plate appearances over parts of 12 seasons, stayed with the Cubs organization through the 2019 season before being traded to the Boston Red Sox. He became a free agent following the 2021 season, and he signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants. He then signed a deal with the Cincinnati Reds, spending one season with the team before signing with Miami for the 2024 season.
Despite his struggles in limited action at the big league level, Pereda has been posting formidable numbers in Triple-A the past few seasons. He has a .319/.400/.440 batting line with two home runs for Triple-A Las Vegas this year, and posted an .829 OPS last year and an .873 OPS the year prior.
Camargo, who the Twins acquired along with Kenta Maeda from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Brusdar Graterol, Luke Raley and a Competitive Balance B pick in February 2020, has disappointed since joining the Twins organization. He made his MLB debut last season, failing to collect a hit in seven at-bats for Minnesota. He has a mere .577 OPS in 120 plate appearances with Triple-A St. Paul this year, and has hit .245/.301/.420 with 78 home runs in 2167 career minor league plate appearances.