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Perez will start at catcher and bat eighth Thursday against the Tigers.

Heading into the final year of the four-year, $9 million deal he inked in April 2017, Perez remains locked in as Cleveland's top backstop ahead of Austin Hedges. Perez is well regarded for his game-calling and defensive abilities, but he regressed mightily in 2020 after slugging a career-high 24 homers in 2019. Over 110 plate appearances last season, Perez managed a lowly .165/.264/.216 slash line while striking out at a career-high 34.5 percent rate. Though he projects to have one of the larger workloads in baseball, his shortcomings at the plate render him a low-end fantasy option.

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