BRADENTON, Fla. -- Roberto Pérez knows who he is when healthy, that the last two injury-riddled years have not been indicative of his value. In a new organization for the first time, he’s ready to prove just that.

“I know what kind of player I am, what I’m capable of doing when I’m healthy,” Pérez said on Monday. “I’m excited for this year. The last two years, that’s in the past. Now it’s a new year, new opportunity, new team, new faces.”

Pérez, 33, speaks with conviction. To some, Pérez’s résumé has faded from relevancy. Not too long ago, Pérez was universally regarded as one of the game’s best defensive catchers. When players miss time, though, collective memories tend to be quite forgetful.

The past two years have been frustrating for Pérez. Due to lingering shoulder injuries, Pérez has played just 76 games. In November, the Guardians, the only organization Pérez had known, declined his team option. Before missing so much time, Pérez was one of the game’s defensive savants.

From 2015 to 2019, Pérez was tied with Buster Posey for the most defensive runs saved among catchers (66). In 2019, Pérez had 30 DRS, second among all position players en route to winning the first of two straight Gold Gloves. He also smacked 24 homers in the process. The Pirates will miss Jacob Stallings, traded to the Marlins for prospects this offseason, but with Pérez’s shoulder in a better spot, he will have an opportunity to, once again, showcase his worth.

“It was a huge sign for us,” said manager Derek Shelton. “After we traded [Stallings], we needed somebody that could solidify our group. We’re talking about a guy with multiple Gold Gloves and has caught some of the best pitchers in the game over the last 10 years.”

Shelton is far from the only person in the organization singing Pérez’s praises. On Monday, general manager Ben Cherington brought up Blue Jays general manager and former colleague Ross Atkins, who held various positions with the Guardians. According to Cherington, of all the players who came through Cleveland’s system during Atkins’s time with the organization, Atkins talked about Pérez more than anyone else.

“His reputation, not just as a defensive player — the part that we can all see — but his reputation inside the clubhouse and how much he cares for pitchers was definitely an important factor,” Cherington said.

For Pérez’s numbers, his value on this team lies in his ability to lead this team’s staff, one of the game’s most inexperienced. Most pitchers on this roster have three or fewer years on a big league mound. Among all pitchers on the 40-man roster, only José Quintana, Heath Hembree, Dillon Peters and Chris Stratton have pitched for five or more years. That collective need for seasoning is what caught Pérez’s intrigue.

“In Cleveland, I had a younger staff, too,” Pérez said. “I really liked to help them and see them grow as pitchers. That’s why I decided to come here.”

The problem that Pérez, who tested his shoulder’s health during winter ball, currently faces is learning his pitchers as quickly as possible. With the compressed Spring Training, Pérez only has three weeks to learn the staff. Currently, Pérez has caught a single pitcher on the Pirates’ 40-man roster in-game. To Pérez, there’s no shortcutting the process.

“I could watch video all day long, but I think catching them live, I want to know what the ball’s doing, how the ball moves and stuff like that,” Pérez said. “I told the staff here, I want to catch everybody, a different guy every day, so I can get used to them very quickly.”

Along with guiding the pitchers during the season, Pérez will have a brief opportunity in Bradenton to impart guidance upon Henry Davis (Pirates’ No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline), Endy Rodriguez (No. 19) and Carter Bins.

“He can help with the mind [a lot],” Rodriguez said. “How he calls the pitches, how he can [establish] a relationship with a pitcher. ... He helps me with that.”

In Cleveland, Pérez solidified himself as one of the game’s best defensive catchers, assisting a young staff in the process. With a new organization for the first time, Pérez will have that opportunity once more.

“I’m new here, so I’m gonna be back there for them,” Pérez said. “[Whenever] they want, I’ll be there. I’m going to try to help them as much as I can.”