IBL's Kitchener Panthers sign Perez

The Intercounty Baseball League’s Kitchener Panthers have signed veteran Cuban left-hander Yamichel Perez. Photo: Kitchener Panthers

May 4, 2023

Official Kitchener Panthers News Release

KITCHENER, Ont. - The Kitchener Panthers have signed veteran Cuban left-hander Yamichel Perez (Sancti Spiritus, Cuba).

The 33-year-old southpaw has been a longtime standout in the Cuban National Series, having pitched in 14 seasons and accumulated 68 wins and a 4.14 ERA. He has spent the majority of his career pitching for the Sancti Spiritus Roosters but has transferred to the Matanzas Crocodiles for the past three seasons.

He also has experience representing Cuba on the international stage and has been selected as a Cuban National Series All-Star multiple times.

In 2019, Perez was the league leader in wins, recording a 13-3 record, to go along with a 2.74 ERA, 121 1/3 innings pitched and a 2.52 strikeouts to walks ratio.

As noted, he has spent the past three Cuban National Series campaigns representing Matanzas and has recorded a 24-12 record while suiting up alongside former Panthers Noelvis Entenza, Yoennis Yera and Jonder Martinez.

In 2022, Perez competed for the “Centrales” in the newly created Cuban Elite League which featured six teams comprised of the top players from the 18 existing Cuban National Series teams. In this best on best competition, he rose to the occasion, posting a 3-1 record and a 2.36 ERA in nine starts. He struck out 30 batters, while walking only five, in 49 2/3 innings.

“I am very pleased that Yamichel Perez will be joining the Kitchener Panthers,” said Panthers general manager Mike Boehmer, who made two recent trips to Cuba. “We had him signed last year, but visa delays due to the pandemic prevented his coming to Canada. Yamichel is a veteran left-hander with 14 years experience in the Cuban National Series. Perez is consistently among the league leaders in innings pitched, and has excellent control. We also like that Matanzas has gone to the Cuban Finals each of the past three years, so Perez has pitched in many big games. We expect Yamichel Perez to be an important part of our 2023 pitching staff.”