The Cubs should claim Hernan Perez on waivers

Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesNews item from last Friday:

Well, this seemed odd. Hernan Perez isn’t a great player. He doesn’t hit much; his career slash line of .254/.284/.387 gives him an OPS+ of 76. But he was a 1.0 to 2.0 bWAR player before this season, a useful utility player who could play pretty much every position on the field. He’s even made six garbage-time pitching appearances for the Brewers over the last three seasons.

So why did the Brewers do this? Defense, they claim; the article says they’re disappointed with Orlando Arcia at shortstop and Tyler Saladino would take over at short, at least for now, for the Brewers. That’s a weird move on the face of it: Saladino is…