The Braves added left-hander Carlos Perez, right-hander Luis Vasquez and infielder Elmer Reyes to their 40-man roster Wednesday, which prevents them from being poached by other teams in next month’s Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings.
Perez, who turned 22 on Wednesday, had a 2.76 ERA and impressive 0.985 WHIP (walks-plus-hits per inning pitched) in 29 relief appearances for Braves Class-A affiliates Rome and Lynchburg in 2013, totaling 52 strikeouts with 19 walks in 45-2/3 innings. It was the first season as a full-time reliever for the Dominican, who has pitched in the Braves’ minor league system since he was 17.
Vasquez, 27, signed as a minor-league free agent after posting a 2.52 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 35-2/3 innings last season with the Dodgers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. His fastball tops out at 99 mph, though the right-hander has command problems and issued 28 walks last season. His 27 hits allowed included just one home run.
Reyes, who’ll be 23 next week, is a strong defensive shortstop who has also played second and third base in the minors. The undersized Nicaragua native hit .285 with 39 extra-base hits (four triples, five homers) in 123 games at Lynchburg, with a career-high 60 RBIs and a .321 on-base percentage.
In the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League season that concluded last week, Reyes hit .256 with a .347 OBP in 43 at-bats.
