Everson Pereira and Yoendrys Gómez were teammates while working their way through the New York Yankees farm system.
Pereira reached the majors in August 2023 and was in left field when Gómez made his big-league debut as a reliever on Sept. 28, 2023, against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
The two were linked again Nov. 18 when the Chicago White Sox sent Gómez and reliever Steven Wilson to the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire Pereira and infielder Tanner Murray.
Pereira admitted it was “a little bit” weird being traded for someone he knows, learning about the deal between games of a doubleheader in the Venezuelan Winter League.
“Everything happens for a reason, and I think this is a good opportunity for me,” Pereira said last week through an interpreter.
Pereira and Murray joined the organization the same day the Sox acquired reliever Chris Murphy in a separate trade from the Boston Red Sox and added right-handed pitchers Tanner McDougal and Duncan Davitt to the 40-man roster.
McDougal, the No. 7 prospect in the Sox system according to MLB.com, had a combined 28 starts for High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham in 2025. But his mindset is on any role ahead.
“At this point I’m just trying to do anything I can to help the big-league team out,” McDougal said last week. “Whether that’s out of the bullpen, whether that’s as a starter, whatever they need, I’m willing to do.”
Here are three more takeaways from recent video conferences with Pereira and McDougal.
1. Pereira aims to ‘slow down the game.’
The Yankees traded Pereira to the Rays on July 31. The outfielder doubled in his first at-bat for Tampa Bay on Aug. 11 against the Athletics. He had two hits in the game, matching a career high.
In 23 games for the Rays, Pereira went 9-for-65 (.138) with two home runs and eight RBIs. He’s 23-for-158 (.146) with five doubles, two homers and 18 RBIs in 50 career major-league games with the Yankees (2023) and Rays (2025).
His goal going ahead is to “slow down the game.”
“The opportunities that I’ve had in the majors, I haven’t been able to really take full advantage of those because I’ve been trying to do too much, just because I really want to show the kind of player I can be, who I am,” Pereira said. “Those cases, I think, that has been playing against my performance. Now I know I just need to really control what I can do.”
Pereira — who has 87 homers and 289 RBIs in 409 games over seven minor-league seasons — is one of five outfielders on the Sox 40-man roster, joining Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Benintendi, Brooks Baldwin and Derek Hill. The club nontendered right fielder Mike Tauchman on Friday.
2. McDougal embraces a challenge.
McDougal has stepped up in some major minor-league moments.
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The right-hander went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two postseason starts for Low-A Kannapolis in 2024. And in the 2025 postseason, he allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings during two starts for Birmingham.
McDougal struck out 11 and did not surrender a walk while helping the Barons to the Southern League title.
“I’ve always been an adrenaline guy,” he said. “Since I was little, I love roller coasters and stuff like that. It’s weird just because you don’t realize how much the adrenaline really does play into those types of games and those situations.
“But when things are heightened and everybody’s putting it on the line, I just feel like it brings the best out of me for whatever reason. I really enjoy pitching in the playoffs, high-leverage situations.”
McDougal finished strong, going a combined 3-5 with a 3.26 ERA and 136 strikeouts for the Dash and Barons in 2025.
“Everything that I set out to do I accomplished,” he said.
3. Both players are working on the next step.
McDougal, 22, wanted to “get back to throwing strikes and getting outs” in 2025.
His ERA went from 6.04 in 22 starts between Winston-Salem and Kannapolis in 2024 to 3.26 for Winston-Salem and Birmingham in 2025. His strikeout total increased from 116 to 136 while his walks decreased from 58 to 49 in 21 more innings (92 1/3 to 113 1/3).
McDougal’s offseason includes working with Cressey Sports Performance in Florida.
“We have a great plan in place to hopefully push the limits here again this year and hopefully make a difference on the big-league side at some point this year,” McDougal said.
Pereira, 24, has been active in winter ball. Through 18 games for Cardenales de Lara, he had a .269 average with two home runs and nine RBIs. Pereira is concentrating on consistently making contact.
“I need to really make that (offensive) adjustment I need in order to produce at the level that I know I can do it in the major leagues,” he said.
