Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez has never been afraid to speak his mind, and last week he turned his ire toward the team's ownership, which Perez believes hasn't spent adequately enough to build a winner. This, quite predictably, hasn't sat well with the team's front office, and Indians general manager Chris Antonetti spoke privately with Perez on Tuesday night.
After the discussion, Antonetti beat back the notion that Perez is trying to force his way out of Cleveland, intimating that Perez remains committed to the club, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian:
"If that's how people are perceiving it," Antonetti said, "or if that's how others are interpreting it, I really can't control that. Ultimately, I have to rely upon the conversations that Chris and I have had since that time. That's what I'll go on."
Antonetti declined to get specific about what exactly he and Perez discussed, though he did make it clear that Perez was remorseful:
"I'm not going to get into the details of that," Antonetti said of his conversation with Perez. "Chris would probably tell you that he could've chosen his words differently -- the specifics of his words. But, again, I think it's coming from a bit of frustration that the team hasn't been as successful as we all had hoped, Chris included."
Perez has 35 saves so far in 2012, while posting a 3.62 ERA and a WHIP of 1.07. He has struck out 57 batters in 49.2 innings.
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