Mariners GM on impression Jhonny Pereda made: ‘He’ll be back’

"He did a fantastic job on all sides of the ball," Mariners GM Justin Hollander said of catcher Jhonny Pereda.

Jun 20, 2026, 9:21 AM

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The Seattle Mariners have been been busy in the world of transactions this week.

There have been big returns from the injured list (Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford), a short-term loss to the IL (Randy Arozarena) and a handful of call-ups from the minor leagues.

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Amid all of that was a demotion back to the minors that many fans hoped wouldn’t have to happen. That would be catcher Jhonny Pereda, who was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma upon Raleigh’s activation on Monday.

The 30-year-old Pereda turned heads in his time up with the M’s, and his ticket to Tacoma was a matter of circumstance more than anything – he has minor league options, meaning Seattle could remove him from their active roster without having to designate him for assignment and expose him to other teams on waivers. And with the state of their roster, the Mariners didn’t see this as a time to carry a third catcher in addition to Raleigh and backup Mitch Garver.

The Mariners see the results Pereda has provided, though. In 19 games in what is his third MLB season, Pereda has hit .270 (17 for 63) with two homers. And his work behind the plate is just as valuable to the team.

“He did a fantastic job on all sides of the ball,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said on Monday. “The way he worked defensively, both in game-calling and working with the pitchers, the energy that he brought every single day, the quality of his at-bat was unbelievable.”

Hollander was perhaps just as impressed by Pereda as fans were, and assured that Pereda will be seen in an M’s uniform again.

“Incredible impression,” Hollander said of Pereda’s stint with the M’s. “We are limited by the fact that we have 13 position players and we really can’t go another pitcher short and go (with) a five-man bullpen or something like that. … He was fantastic. He’ll be back. I think he’s a real part of what we’re doing here.

“It’s a tough conversation to have to let him know that he was the guy that’s going down. I think he was prepared for it and understands.”