The Astros will call up young southpaw Cionel Perez, per Jake Kaplan of The Athletic (via Twitter). He’ll take the open roster spot created when Carlos Correa was placed on the 10-day DL.
Perez was already on the 40-man roster, as he needed to be protected from the most recent Rule 5 draft. Accordingly, the move is not necessarily a particularly consequential one.
That said, this will be his first turn at the game’s highest level. And it stands to reason that the ’Stros would not have made the move unless they were interested to see how the highly regarded lefty looks in the MLB bullpen.
Perez, 22, has been a nice addition to the Houston farm since signing in 2016 out of Cuba — a process that had some twists and turns but left him with a $2MM signing bonus. He entered the current season ranked 6th among the organization’s prospects by MLB.com.
Questions remain as to Perez’s long-term outlook as a starter. Per MLB.com, he’s still refining his primary three-pitch mix — sinker/slider/change — and faces concerns about his small stature. There’s also the matter of the elbow concerns that gummed up his original deal with Houston.
That said, Perez has sure looked the part this year. In his 57 1/3 Double-A frames, he carries a 2.20 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. He has compiled that stat line over ten starts and four relief appearances, so clearly the Astros aren’t pushing him too hard. Perez tallied 93 2/3 total innings in 2017, his first professional campaign, so he wasn’t quite set up for a full workload this year.
All things considered, it’s certainly possible that Houston could look at Perez as a potential multi-inning relief asset. He’d still be able to return to the rotation in the long run. It’s more likely, though, that this call-up will represent only a first taste of the majors. The Astros’ pen has been rather dominant, after all, though it’d be nice to have another option available if any cracks begin to form.
Josh Hader 2.0?
Would love it but Hader comp seems like a long shot.
Would be nice, but we traded away Hader 1.0 so I doubt we’re lucky enough to have 2.0 in our back pocket.
It was cool how you said comp.
Astros bullpen, dominant?
Bullpen ERA is #1 in AL. Thats pretty dominant!
Devo : 1.34 Era / 10.7 KP9
Rendon: 1.50 era / 11.4 KP9
McHugh: 1.03 era / 12.3 KP9
Peacock: 2.06 era / 12.9 KP9
Giles : 4.23 era / 8.8 KP9
Harris : 4.30 era / 11.0 KP9
That’s pretty dominant.
Not to mention that during the playoffs they’ll only need 4 starters.
I miss Hector.
The needed to be protected from the rule 5 draft link takes leads to an article about his signing, nor about his being protected from the rule 5 draft.
If he was only signed in 2016, how would he have to have been protected from the rule 5 draft already, it’s only two years later.
And don’t you have to be put on the 25, not just the 40, to be protected from the rule 5? So if he was one the 40 man due to being protected from the most recent rule 5 shouldn’t he already be on the 25, or been on it last year because I forget when the draft is?
Or are the rules different for him because he signed at an advanced age. Clearly I’m confused.
They only have to be kept on the 25 man roster if they were selected in the rule 5 draft. Having them on the 40 man prevents them from being selected. There are different rules for older players, and unless I’m reading something wrong, he wouldn’t have been eligible this past year
The reason he had to be 40 man rostered is due to his original contract being voided because of medical questions involving his left arm. It’s a rare case as this rule isn’t very well known.
Wow! I didn’t see this coming. I thought he was going to be used as a trade piece. I’m excited to see him and think he could be a great asset to the Stros down the stretch.
Seems like Luhnow doesn’t like the relief pitching market so he’s exploring options within the organization.
I wonder how much of this is a showcase?
He will be needed. Now that Hinch has over thrown his starters and they have tired arms.