Kansas City, Mo. ? The Kansas City Royals waived underperforming shortstop Neifi Perez on Monday, clearing the way for Angel Berroa to move up from Triple-A Omaha next season.

Perez, 29, made $4.1 million last season and would have again been eligible for arbitration. He had asked for $5 million before the 2002 season, an amount reduced in arbitration.

Perez came to the Royals in a three-way trade midway throughout the 2001 season. He hit just .236 with 37 RBIs in 2002 – his only full season in Kansas City – and didn’t make up for it in the field.

He won a Gold Glove in 2000 with Colorado but struggled in the field in Kansas City, committing 20 errors this season and 25 overall in his 11¼2-year stint.

And as if that weren’t enough, Perez admitted in spring training he had lied about his age – he was actually 28 at the time, not 26.

“The bottom line is that Neifi didn’t fit in our plans for next year,” said Royals general manager Allard Baird, announcing the waiver on the team’s Web site.

Berroa, 24, was an unknown in January 2001, when he was included in a three-way trade that sent popular outfielder Johnny Damon to Oakland. At the time, though, Baird called Berroa “a major part in this deal” and “a legitimate shortstop with tremendous upside.”

Berroa, now playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, had arthroscopic knee surgery last season but joined the Royals in September. He hit .227 with five RBIs in 20 games.

Also on Monday, the Royals added right-hander Ian Ferguson, left-hander Jimmy Gobble, infielder Alejandro Machado and catcher Mike Tonis to their 40-man roster.