The Red Sox have declined their option on left-hander Martín Pérez, per various reporters (including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe). If exercised, the option would’ve paid Pérez $6.85MM, as Chris Cotillo of MassLive breaks down (via Twitter). Instead, he’ll receive a $500K buyout and hit free agency.
The 29-year-old becomes one of the younger starters on the market. Once viewed as a key long-term rotation piece in the Rangers’ organization, Pérez has seen his stock fall off in recent seasons. He continued to log unexciting production in 2020, pitching to a 4.50 ERA with subpar strikeout (17.6%) and walk (10.7%) rates.
To his credit, Pérez did reliably take the ball for the Sox every fifth day, as he did with the Twins in 2019. The southpaw has never posted great strikeout-to-walk ratios and has seen his ground-ball rate fall off over the years, but he continues to induce soft contact. Pérez’s 86.3 MPH opponents’ average exit velocity this year ranked in the 85th percentile, per Statcast.
Not sure why considering he gave us ample innings and enthusiasm, two things Boston and this club desperately need right now.
he’s a transitional piece. Boston doesnt need him if they arent contending and might want to do better if they are trying.
He fills the Rick Porcello role at a fraction of the cost. To me it just seems unnecessary either way.
Like I’ve said before, Archer is on the way.
Archer is hype. He is a #3 starter at best. He has not had an ERA under 4.00 since 2015…..
Sox will not waste time on Archer. I would have picked up the option because he could have been moved in July for a prospect or two depending on how he pitched. No idea on what Bloom will do but his moves so far deserve the benefit of the doubt. I’m more concerned with the manager choice as I will not invest the same time if it’s Cora.
Declining the option gives the sox from options. They can explore other candidates that were either cheaper and just as good, or better via FA or trade. Or worst case, the sox bring perez back on a cheaper deal. … in any case, nobody was going to give up a halfway decent prospect for a number 5 starter on an expiring contract
Gotta agree Looie…Cora is a walking, oozing root canal. Euthanize that notion.
And Perez is a #4 starter at best who hasn’t had an ERA under 4.00 since 2013. Money being equal, Archer’s upside and Bloom’s familiarity with him make Archer a better choice than Perez.
“Money being equal”…..who says it would be!
My wife said the same thing about a home in Las Vegas vs California…..lol. The one in CA was 4 times as much….
Integrity of the sport is involved.
too expensive for Chaim
Isn’t Chaim going to follow the strategic plan left for him by DD?
Exactly. This is ALL about the $$$. Bloom can pick up 5 scrubs off the BB heap for that $$ and hope one sticks.
By rough count Bloom signed, traded for, or claimed 18 pitchers over the 2020 off season and regular season not counting re-signing or arb signings.
Based on what we saw from the starting rotation, how has that worked out?
Pivetta has had a short sample that contradicts his larger body in PHI… so that is a mixed bag.
Perez he risks going elsewhere by releasing, for better or worse.
Other than that… ??? Lots of swings and misses.
Meanwhile, Graterol looked pretty good in the postseason in some high leverage situations for the LAD.
Put that against the backdrop of Sale being unavailable until likely mid season, and, e-rod having unknown lingering effects from his covid bout.
It’s one season and I disagree on both Gretrerol and It being a mixed bag. Clearly in my view many more positives. Sox needed much more than a reliever and if the wanted to could flip the Dodgers return for more than a Greterol type.
Dang
Too many lefties! Granted Sale and Rodriguez comeback in 2021
One of the members on soxprospects had a tweet of Martin’s saying he doubted the team was going to pick the option up several days ago. While i though he was ok for a 4-5 SP, like was posted above. Maybe going forward with the market now, that’s too much for someone who can give 150IP of iffy innings and Bloom thinks he can get it cheaper.
Instead of “meh for less”, maybe the Red Sox can spend a little more and get a whole lot better pitcher.
Agree John except the money for a big market club even now seems to be worth it given their other starter unknowns for 21.
With all of the non tendering going on, I’d say it is smart to cut Perez and go after someone better. I’d go after Lester. He might go for about that much
Agree on Lester but given the health of ERod and Sale, more than one starter is needed.
He’s “meh”. You can get “meh” for less.
He didn’t have much… we definitely need some arms….let’s see what’s out there in free agency….
I am disgusted with them!!!!!!! He stood up when no one else did pitching!!!! He deserved the option.
you don’t pay for past results. you pay for what you expect to get going forward.
Well, Bloom doesn’t at least, because DD certainly did with Sale and Eovaldi.
Are you kidding me? Yes he served his purpose.., LAST YEAR.
Sox don’t need a guy like this next year. That’s what pivetta is for. We can only have so many number five starters.
The Red Sox will need good fortune filling out a 2021 starting rotation.
Piece of cake !! Here’s our 5:
There’s the iron horse, Nate Eovaldi, and ERod. Then there’s um.., Houck!!, yup Tanner Houck, and.., well, Piveta… and at the 5th spot is.., ya um…, Chris Mazza !!
Solid !!
I’m sure Ryan Weber will elevate his game.
Why?? They didn’t have any trouble filling out a rotation in 2020.
I hope that’s sarcasm randy, but, given your other posts doesn’t sound like it?
2020 red Sox couldn’t put together a starting pitching rotation to save a life.
Best they did was find warm bodies to serve BP sessions during live games. But a legitimate starting rotation they were not.
Last year, at times, the Sox rotation was (1) #5 and (4) #6’s. It can only go up from here. Right?
Cough
ERod? Who knows if or when he’ll be bsck?
Gary – agree! The Red Sox need to put the $6.85 million toward a #1 or #2 rather 4 and 5s. There is plenty of pitchers available in FA, so no need for using prospects in trades.
There is not much available in SP after the head case Trevor Bauer
The Red Sox will likely be among the suitors for Martin Perez in free agency. The Sox just didn’t like the option price.
Agreed. Almost $7M for him is steep.
Declining should be a given. Keeps the sox rotation options open and if they do wind up wanting him back, they can get him back likely cheaper
He makes an OK fifth starter in an OK rotation. Sox have championships with guys like that. Tavarez comes to mind. Doubront. He could be back for less. This move makes perfect sense.
Whyhay- Tavarez was behind some good pitchers.
Beckett 20-7 3.27
Schilling 9-8 3.87
Wakefield 17-12 4.76
Matsuzaka 15-12 4.40
Lester 4-0 4.57
If the Red Sox want to contend they will use some of their financial flexibility on an upgrade (they may end up resigning Perez as well).
The Sox will not be spending any money this offseason that’s what Henry wants don’t be surprised if XB and Benny are traded I’m sure JD if anyone is dumb enough I say they’re going for a big rebuild
I say they make 7+ trades this offseason
Henry what’s to get the payroll as low as he can I mean Marlins low
Silliest post I have read in a long time.
I agree fever pitch guy. It’s like some of these people think John Henry is going to change his 15-year pattern. John Henry has suddenly become a cheapskate LOL. 2020 was good business sense, rather than a sudden change in strategy and thinking after 15 years.
Henry is the most successful owner is century…4 WS speak for themselves
Gary/fever pitch – it’s not as far fetched as you think.
If the future of the red sox is being taken public by henry, picture the struggles faced by Toronto and Atlanta.
It won’t be Boston Herald money and the like funding payrolls, it’ll be the sox standing on their own while providing a ROI.
Sox have among the highest ticket prices in MLB and own NESN. They will not slash ticket prices and tolerate low ratings because the financial loss would be massive. They must remain competitive to maintain revenue, so I take them for their word when they said they intend to compete in 2021. They just don’t want to spend money foolishly, as Dombrowski did with the Sale extension and Pearce contract etc.
I’m not a big fan of Martin Perez by any standards but I am a little surprised the Sox declined the option. I really thought Bloom and co. were going to stick with him as an ‘innings-eater’ for another season. Maybe this means they’ve got their sights set on someone better to fill the hole in their rotation? (one can dream anyway… right?) Or maybe they even look to bring him back on a cheaper contract. He’s never going to blow anyone away with his results… but he is valuable enough as a 4/5 SP on a borderline-playoff team (which I think the Red Sox can be if they bring in some bullpen help, and a SP or two) — I know they were atrocious last season, but they’re a lot closer to being a playoff team then a lot of people realize. They’ll have erod and Sale coming back, already have a very solid offensive core and will hopefully address their bullpen in a legitimate/substantial way this off-season. If they do those things… theres really no reason they couldn’t get back to being competitive as early as next season. They have the core to do it… they just need the front office to make sure they actually give them some pitching to work with.
They declined the option and will try to pick him up for 1/2 that cost
In what is going to amount to a very frugal league wide off-season even if Perez at the very least made all of his starts he isn’t worth retaing at 6.5 million (or 6 million given the cost of the buyout). Lots of players are going to be available for far less than in years past
Rsox- agree! This offseason is going to be like a black Friday clearance sale. Teams with no money can not spend leaving a glut of players for the teams with financial flexibility like the Red Sox (thank you again Dodgers).
Dodgers were and are laughing all the way to their WS title for that trade.
Without Mookie Betts the LAD lose to the Braves between robbed HRs, shoestring catches, on target throws in for outs, and not to mention timely hitting. Repeat of all against TB.
There’s nothing forseeable that ever allows Boston to win that trade. NOTHING.
There’s a long, long way to go before that trade can be judged. Verdugo so far looks like the real deal, Downs has a bunch of potential, and the payroll flexibility from the trade could lead to another major acquisition or two.
FPG – You are right the final net loss on the Mookie deal won’t be documented for several years. The trade itself didn’t really clear much spending for Boston. With a two year plan to get below the luxury tax it would have cost $10M. With the 1 year plan that we executed it cost $48M in addition to both Mookie and Price’s positive contributions in 2020 and 2020-2022 respectively.
Our available money under the cap is still less than $40M despite clearing out $27M from Mookie, $16M from Price, $11M for JBJ and $6M from Perez. It will be difficult to find that many quality players for $40M or less. I don’t think it matters because our new goal going forward will be to NOT sign top free agents. The new model is to sign inexpensive young players and hope they turn into super stars like Mookie. Yes, that does sound odd that we gave up a super star that was home grown to adopt a policy of trading and drafting players in hopes of them becoming Mookie-like players. Why keep the real thing when you can buy a cheap knock off?
I think the phrase “major acquisition” will not be used for years in Boston. I don’t care what the owners did prior to firing DD, since then they have shown no tendencies similar to the way they behaved the past 20 years. This is a new era under the old regime and their behavior will be completely unfamiliar to the fans of the Red Sox. We are officially the TB North Red Sox. Our logo should have Henry standing there with a fanny pack on!! Tighten your belts, this is going to be a very bumpy ride.
The Red Sox weren’t trying to “win the trade” they were trying to get payroll flexibility and any kind of decent return for Betts. The win for the Red Sox was getting a controllable replacement for Betts while getting rid of Price’s contract (and attitude).
Good for the Dodgers, they won the World Series. Lets see if Roberts has better luck than Bobby Cox did with piling up division titles with nothing to show for them
Rsox – Win the trade? Quite the contrary! They were successful in losing the trade. We hired a GM who had never made a big deal in his career and is an expert in keeping payroll down. Why would payroll flexibility matter if the goal is to reduce payroll? You keep thinking like the old days. Those days are past. We aren’t the Red Sox of the first 20 years of the century, we are the new austere Red Sox. Fans need to accept the change. You don’t dump a guy like Mookie if you aren’t changing your entire philosophy.
A win for the Red Sox would have been getting quality controllable pitching. We got one player who will contribute to the Red Sox significantly if he stays healthy, and two guys who are likely never to contribute to the Red Sox significantly. We passed on fighting for a SP that would significantly contribute to the Red Sox like Urias or May. It’s hard to call something a win when you lose the second best player in baseball and get back ‘not garbage’. That’s a very odd perspective to me. We won because we got far less than the value of what we gave away but it was better than nothing. That’s the cost of payroll flexibility to a team looking to cut back payroll significantly? What an interesting perspective. FYI… we have roughly $30M of flexibility after giving up a stud RF and our #2 SP and their $59M salaries. If ownership was willing to pay $10M in luxury tax rather than $16M to the Dodgers we’d have more money today which means greater flexibility.
Price’s contract being paid to LAD is costing us more money than if we kept him. The additional tax on his contract in 2021 is under $10M and we are paying LAD $16M. We’d be better off playing Price and having him fill a spot in the rotation for $32M than to pay $16M for nothing.
Roberts has Mookie now. They will be the Red Sox of the next 10 years except they will not drop to last after winning. We could have been the dominant team of the 2020s but instead we are going to become the frugal team that everyone admires but we won’t win anything. Yes we’ll be admired by others for an excellent farm system due to highly rated players that have never contributed to the MLB team but we will win nothing just like the NYY, Atlanta and the Dodgers until they got Mookie.
All Red Sox fans should be excited about going from the team to beat to the team with a great farm system that wins nothing and does it all for $100M or less! Thank you John Henry and gang. for the 20 year run that gave Red Sox fans hope again. Sure wish you hadn’t felt compelled to end it. So until something changes, don’t expect the fan support you earned while winning four rings, expect fan support comparable to the austerity program you have implemented. No rings should dry up the profits reaped from the past 20 years of spending that brought record profits to you. .
The Red Sox already “won” the trade from their perspective. They NEEDED to get below the tax line last year and trading Betts and half of Price’s contract did that for them. On top of that they acquire Verdugo who looks like he’s going to be a long-term fit in RF for the Sox, Downs who has lots of promise and a potential backup catcher with Power. No one is claiming that Betts isn’t an amazing player and yeah he did just lead/help lead the Dodgers to a WS — so it’s a win for them as well for sure. But as far as the red Sox are concerned. The deal wasn’t about getting the better players in return — that’s impossible Betts is a superstar. It was about getting “something” for a player who would’ve walked at the end of the year AND getting the salary to below the tax level. Win-win for both teams… and the bonus is that Verdugo and Downs might both be key pieces of their core for 5+ years to come. Trade won for the Sox. (and Dodgers)
Good move- he didn’t add or subtract for us.
Wanna hear something funny? I’m a ranger fan, and remember when he was gonna be the next Johan santana. but I also remember when Rubens Mateo was gonna be the next Griffey, and thomas diamond was gonna be next Clemens. the Joy’s of being a ranger fan.
Wow, that exit velocity in the juiced ball era is incredible. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made that money back from someone else. He’s a perfect piece to fill out a rotation.
The Red Sox won the World Series in 1918, traded Babe Ruth, and didn’t win the series again until 2004.
The Red Sox won the World Series in 2018, traded Mookie Betts, and didn’t win the series again until… 2104???
King – the then and now is the ownership group. Henry needs to be competitive for NESN ratings. I would not be surprised if the RS win #5 since 2004 before the NYY gets #2 since 2004
LV96 – We need to stop thinking Henry is the same guy he was a year ago. He’s not. The money has dried up and Bloom is here to ensure Henry makes bigger profits not winning rings. The winning rings era is over just as KingTiger stated. I hope we win before 2104 but one thing is clear, we won’t see any more rings this decade unless Henry reverts back to the old Henry and gets a GM who actually has experience at major acquisitions. We have a tinkerer not a major acquisition guy. We spent over $100M less than the Yankees in 2020. That’s the biggest gap EVER. There is nothing in Henry’s behavior since August 2019 that suggests he’s the same old big spender. Those days are past as are the rings.
We have entered a very long dark tunnel and without an abrupt change in behavior by ownership and the front office, we won’t see the daylight at the far side of the tunnel for years. Start printing the WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR t-shirts because that will be our slogan until Henry sells or reverts back to being Henry and we get a big market GM.
Optimism is great but blind optimism is an easy way to be bad for a very long time and rationalize it. We can all hope but hope won’t win games, quality players that cost money win games.
Sox are going flat-out cheap. Opening Day they should say “And now, here are your 2021 Boston Orioles”. Or Pirates. It’s all good.
The BoSox pen is horrible and in need of a complete revamp. In truth, Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck and the gradual return of Chris Sale is a pretty good rotation.
I like your optimism, but to compete you need more than 4 and a half starters. Add 2 quality FA arms and we good.
We’ve all been wondering about Bloom and here is an answer that so many have disagreed with when it’s been put forth this past year. 2021 is not going to be a year when we exceed the luxury tax so we didn’t need to get under in 2020. We could still sign Perez for less or Bloom may have liked some of the pitchers released this past week.
More than likely, from here on out all players need to have greater expected value than cost. E-Rod is clearly in jeopardy after this move since he is high risk and a fairly uncertain reward.. Eovaldi is high cost with a questionable return. JD is high cost with a questionable return. Bloom’s net expected value approach could trigger several trades and more releases for re-signings or new contracts to better priced players. Benny is at risk with his contract. Frankly, anyone over $1M is at risk of being released and renegotiated. Bogey, Devers and excellent controlled players are the only truly safe team members. This will be Bloom’s team by spring training 2021.
Henry/Bloom are waiting for the new CBA in 2022 before committing big $$$ long term. This will allow them to see how Sale & E Rod recover and Houck, Pivetta, Groome. D. Hernandez, etc develop.
For 2021 they can compete on the cheap with several 1 yr deals for vets like: Rob Ray 1/6, Happ 1/6, Lester 1/5, Porcello 1/5, Archer 1/4, Martin Perez 1/3. etc
You are a great fan to suggest what you did but realistically it’s not likely to be true. First, why wait for the CBA? What do you think will be in the CBA that will change things? I know why the Yankees cared about the CBA and spent $300M in 2020, they don’t care if they don’t earn as big of profits if they can stop the 12 year skid. Why would Henry/Bloom be waiting? Yes, the luxury tax level will go up but not by enough to completely change the industry. The luxury tax could have more penalties but that seems unlikely as long as the big market teams control the content of the CBA. So what will be in the CBA that will allow our non-spender and former big spender to commit big $$$ long term? Nothing. There is no reason to wait, their philosophy has changed to one of making bigger profits for Henry. Losing guys like Mookie and not making the playoffs will counteract the savings gain and eventually turn into future losses for Henry. It’s a short-sighted attempt at increasing profits that will alienate fans.
Buying time and the timing of the CBA also makes no sense. Sale is committed to long past the new CBA and a decision on E-Rod has to happen before the new CBA. So neither decision is based on the CBA or buying time for the CBA.
The idea that we can compete with retreads is also very optimistic. Like I said, you are a great fan of the team but what you are saying is all hope and no fact. If you were Lester would you return to the team that dumped you then dumped Mookie? I think he’d rather be in KC than Boston. Same with Porcello since fans weren’t great to him then he got dumped. If short-term contracts happen it’s more likely to be with guys who didn’t get screwed over by this ownership group. Perez could come back for less since there probably isn’t a big market for him and Bloom probably explained to him exactly what the plan was if was to bring him back. That part of your statement of hope is probably right and I hope we do it. Just like contracting JBJ for $1M as a late inning defender makes sense to me too. I’d also go get Holt if possible and see if some chemistry can be rebuilt in the clubhouse.while this player upheaval is happening. If the clubhouse aspect of all these moves is not considered, it will take even more time for the new Red Sox to bloom (yes, perfect opportunity for a pun!).
As a fan until we hire Cora, I still hope all you are wishing for comes true but like I said, it doesn’t seem likely. Bloom isn’t a big spender and apparently Henry must have fallen and hit his head because he went from a big spender to a tightwad. Maybe the amnesia will wear off during the coming year but there are no indications based on moves since firing DD that he will remember who he used to be.
Henry has shown he can change on the fly. He went from Theo to Ben to DD to Bloom despite each having been successful in their own way leading to 4 WS wins. Knowing the specifics of the new CBA can only help in forming a long term plan. E Rod is a FA in 2022 and if he looks good next July they can extend him. Only Sale & Bogey have contracts past 2022.
JBJ is getting 3/21. I see Mitch & Pillar on cheap 1 yr deals.
Henry knows winning = $$$.
Jmi1950 – You made a strong argument about what Henry has done in the past. What aspect of the CBA are you thinking could impact the long-term plan? I’ve thought about it a lot and other than better revenue sharing or a real salary cap, it seems like business as usual with another escalating scale for the luxury tax. A universal DH would change things for NL teams but would not impact Boston. You obviously think there is something that might change and I’m interested in knowing what you think.
E-Rod had 1 good year with Boston and he’s been here quite a while. He’s two years removed from pitching and his heart issue is severe enough that he might not pitch much in his last year of arbitration. Wouldn’t it be smarter to non-tender him if his rehab schedule takes his return beyond May? With limited funds does $8.3M for a guy who has not pitched in two year seem reasonable? If he’s on schedule to make Spring Training we should take a look at him like you suggested but if he’s not back before June is $8.3M his value for 4 months or less? Will he be E-Rod from 2019 or the E-Rod prior to 2019? If he comes back strong, yes it makes sense to extend him but first he has to come back then he has to look like E-Rod 2019.. That’s a lot of ifs.
If we pay JBJ anything over $1M we are wasting our money. There are lots of great defensive players that hit better including Pillar. We have at least two outstanding minor league CFers who should be up by 2022 so keep JBJ at $1M as a defensive replacement. I doubt he’ll get more elsewhere.
Bogey has an opt out in 2023 at age 30. If we want him then he needs to sign an extension next year or we need to move him while he’s at peak value. The last thing we need is to miss the great SS class waiting on Bogey to decide and then have him opt out after all the elite SSs are gone. Bloom needs to fix that situation in 2021.
Mitch on a cheap deal works along with Pillar and one other excellent defender who can hit if Benny fails again in 2021. Cheap is the key word.
Do you really think Henry will return to the money spending Henry soon with COVID still here and his other business taking hits? For me, I would never have given up on Mookie but ever if he had an issue with Mookie he also hired Bloom who has NEVER traded for a big ticket player like we are used to trading for in Boston. Do you think a big ticket player will ever come to Boston again while Bloom is here?
No one knows what the CBA will be. That is why Henry has hired Bloom and decided to not lock in any long term contracts until he knows.
I did not say the Sox should give JBJ 3/21, but someone will.
As for Mookie, he did not want to be in Boston. Would you rather he be leaving now for a draft choice?
If JBJ gets that kind of money good for him. $7M is about $6M too much.
Again, I’ll ask, what would make long-term contracts worse in the new CBA? The new CBA should include new revenue sources so that would make it easier to have long-term contracts.
Henry hired Bloom to save money. Our spending will be below $150M going forward and that’s still $50M more than the most Bloom has ever managed. Everything ownership has done screams of a serious financial situation for the owners. Not putting a good product on the field will cut the profits so their choices have been bad ones.
Mookie should have been moved in July when a bidding war among SD, Atlanta and LAD would have determined who wins the world series. LAD jumped the gun, got him for cheap, and won the series. Smart move by LAD and an incredibly stupid move by Bloom and Ownership. It was never going to come down to a draft choice only. Mookie is too valuable for that to ever happen. The second best player in baseball as an add on in July? It would have been a bidding frenzy, just like I said in January. The fact that ATL, SD and LAD jumped out early would have made the winner that much stronger and we would have reaped much better players for Mookie.
For me, if I was the owner and Mookie hated me, I would have hired a GM who Mookie would have identified with and had a chance of changing his mind. But that’s me. I think you NEVER give up an elite player. There aren’t that many in baseball so to have one is a huge advantage over others that don’t.
This site has JBJ #21 FA with a 2/16 prediction. I do not expect the Sox to go there that is why I see them going for Pillar & Mitch on 1 yr deals.
The advantage of my approach is that if they are contending with Sale and E Rod healthy in July they will have plenty of $$$ to trade for what they need.
That’s a good approach. With roughly $36M right now available under the cap and Bloom being Bloom I think both Pillar and Mitch are realistic choices. My big fear is the health of E-Rod. Sale will be fine and back to normal by mid summer but E-Rod has more risk. He might get a very late start if it’s true you can’t condition with the heart issue for at least 6 months. Also, he’s been off two years so will he return with the stuff he had in 2019. That’s why Houck needs to start fast, Pivetta needs to do the same, Eovaldi needs to stay healthy and Bloom needs a couple of cheap yet effective starters if Sale and E-Rod aren’t ready day 1. Sale won’t be but E-Rod could be or he could be out longer than Sale. That’s the $8.3M dollar question. Grabbing a Perez at $3M makes sense as a stop=gap solution with upside potential. There should be plenty of SPs that are decent under $10M. Finding a closer is a must. I don’t want to sit on pins and needles every time Barnes goes into the game in the 9th. He’s scary enough in the 8th, the 9th is pure torture.
Wise not picking up the option. He can be picked up for less. Perez is not particularly good, and would have been exposed the longer the season went. Look at his ERA’s and FIP’s the last five years. He is a below league average starter. Fungible. No team is going to be investing heavily in the Martin Perez market, so he can be brought back if needed or jettisoned into the sun. I’d be thinking of upgrading and not giving one of my rotation spots to Perez at this point in the offseason.