The Puerto Rican Baseball Federation has named Eduardo Perez as the general manager of the National Team. The first task of the new general manager would be appointing the National Team skipper.
Perez is being tasked with putting together the best Puerto Rican team possible to compete in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Puerto Rico Baseball Federation President José Daniel Quiles Rosas said: "Considering the importance of the World Baseball Classic, I believe that Eduardo Perez is the right person to put together the best team possible. We finished second both in 2013 and 2017. Puerto Rico can't wait to play again in the World Baseball Classic."
Perez told the local press that he is considering Juan Igor Gonzalez for the manager's job. Gonzalez managed Puerto Rico in the 2019 WBSC Premier12 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifiers. Perez also mentioned Puerto Rican baseball greats Ramón Vázquez, Josué Espada, Santos Alomar Junior, Carlos Beltrán, Joey Cora and Yadier Molina as potential managers.
The son of Hall of Famer Tony Perez, after a 13-year career (1993-2006, including one season with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball, NPB) as Major League Baseball (MLB) utility player, the 52-year-old Perez worked as a hitting coach and a bench coach. He managed Puerto Rico to fourth place in the Baseball World Cup 2009.
Perez is currently an ESPN baseball analyst.
