Antonio Perez could be an underrated component to the whole Bradley deal. Why? He hasn't played a full 162-game season in the big leagues yet, but his career OBP is over .350. Mark Ellis has a career OBP of .348. Granted, Ellis has a higher career OPS and Perez has a much smaller sample size, but Perez could become the new supersub, replacing Marco Scutaro's role.
Perez is great insurance for a cranky Chavez shoulder and he's also great insurance in case Ellis or even Crosby goes down.
Is there any question why Billy Beane has been pursuing him for some time now, if the published reports are correct?
Granted, Perez isn't going to start hitting bombs out of the ballpark, but at the same time, he's a guy who can get on base consistently. I imagine Paul DePodesta probably had a few words about Perez for Billy since the A's were considering acquiring him.
While I believe that Bradley can be a question mark in terms of his attitude and what he's going to provide, I don't think that same uncertainty surrounds Perez. He will be an excellent insurance policy and if the A's have problems with injuries as they have the last couple of years, they're going to need him.
