According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals have released left-hander Odalis Perez because of his failure to report to spring training.
"He would not return our phone calls and after talking internally with [manager] Manny Acta, [pitching coach] Randy St. Claire and the organization, we all feel it’s important that we want players that want to be here and help us win. We made that decision this morning," GM Jim Bowden said. "We left messages yesterday for his agent, we left messages for Odalis. Again I left messages for him this morning. They made their point pretty clear. We need to turn the page. We have a lot of pitchers in camp that are committed to helping us win."
The mandatory reporting date for all players was Sunday, February 22. Perez, 31, agreed to a minor league contract worth $850K two weeks ago, but later decided he wanted more compensation. Now he won’t see a dime from the Nationals.
He is still expected to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, which starts on March 3. A strong showing there could lead to a deal with a new club.
