Cleveland Indians vs. Minnesota Twins, October 1, 2015

Indians catcher Roberto Perez (left) is congratulated by teammate Giovanny Urshela after hitting two-run homer against the Twins on October 1, 2015 at Progressive Field.

(Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Indians think Roberto Perez will be a starting catcher one day. It sounds like some other teams feel the same.

The rebuilding Atlanta Braves have talked to the Indians about Perez, who appeared in 70 games last season in his first full year in the big leagues. Perez hit .228 (42-for-184) with nine doubles, seven homers and 21 RBI.

It doesn't appear the talks went anywhere because the Indians didn't think they could get equal value back. Perez, 26, was the Indians starter for basically the first six weeks of last season after Yan Gomes injured his right knee.

Perez showed a patient approach at the plate, which resulted in 33 walks and played a part in his .751 OPS. He led all big league catchers who faced a minimum of 40 stolen base attempts by throwing out 39 percent (16-for-41) of the runners who challenged him.

"Roberto reinforced our beliefs that he can be a very good starting catcher in the major leagues," said Chris Antonetti, Indians president of baseball operations. "He handles the pitching staff really well, controls the running game extraordinarily well and manages the game.

"He did a good job offensively, too, contributing in key spots."

Atlanta has veteran A.J. Pierzynski and Christian Bethancourt doing their catching.

The Indians are carrying three catchers on their 40-man roster with Gomes, Perez and Tony Wolters. They've invited catchers Adam Moore and Anthony Recker to big league camp on minor league deals.

"Our catching gets overlooked a little, but I think that's one of the strengths of our team," said Antonetti. "Having Yan and Roberto is really helpful for us."