Perez was a member of heavy-hitting Braves teams for five-plus seasons, replacing Sonny Jackson at shortstop in 1971 and moving to second base in 1974. Though he was in the lineup for his glove, he had eight homers and 57 RBI in 1973, and batted as high as .275 in 1975. He was traded from Atlanta to San Francisco to New York to Oakland within 11 months.