After a busy two weeks of working on improving the club's starting pitching and overall pitching depth, the Kansas City Royals went to work on the offense Friday by acquiring 29-year-old lefthanded hitter Gerald Perry along with minor league pitcher Jim LeMasters from the Atlanta Braves.
To complete the trade, the Royals sent pitchers Charlie Leibrandt, a left-hander, and righthanded Rick Luecken to the Braves, said John Schuerholz, Royals' executive vice president and general manager."We have indicated we will make an effort to improve our offense for 1990, and we think the addition of Gerald Perry will go a long way to that end," Schuerholz said. "Perry has been one of the fine young hitters in the National League over the past few seasons, and we think he will continue to improve," he added.
Perry's 1989 season was hindered by a shoulder injury, which required surgery (for subluxation) July 13 after two dislocations during the first half of the season, and he missed the second half. A lifetime .270 hitter (643 games), Perry hit .252 (67-for-266) with 11 doubles, four home runs, and 21 RBI in 72 games. His top year came in 1988 when he hit .300 (166-for-547) with 29 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 74 RBI and was named to the National League team for the Major League All-Star game. He was fifth in the NL in htting and his 164 hits tied for seventh. Additionally, Perry is a threat on the bases as he has 105 career stolen bases, including 42 thefts in '87 and 29 in '88.