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Rangers To Sign Martin Perez

By Steve Adams | March 11, 2022 at 1:38pm CDT

The Rangers have agreed to terms on a contract with free-agent lefty Martin Perez, reports FanSided’s Robert Murray (via Twitter). It’s a one-year, $4MM contract for Perez, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds. Perez, a client of Octagon, will return to the organization that originally signed and developed him. He made his big league debut with Texas in 2012 and spent the next seven seasons with the Rangers.

Perez, 31 next month, spent the 2019 season with the Twins and was with the Red Sox in 2020-21 before returning to Texas. In his three years away from his original club, the southpaw turned in 341 1/3 innings of 4.88 ERA ball with rather pedestrian strikeout (18.4%), walk (8.7%) and ground-ball (44.9%) rates. Boston declined a $6MM club option in favor of a $500K buyout on Perez after the 2021 season.

Once lauded as one of the sport’s premier pitching prospects, Perez has instead settled in as a back-of-the-rotation starter. Those 2019-21 rates represented a slight uptick over his career strikeout rate and a slight downgrade over his career ground-ball rate, but generally speaking, Perez’s output in three years away from Texas was roughly in line with his lifetime numbers at the big league level. He doesn’t necessarily work deep into starts, but Perez has avoided the injured list for the past three seasons, with the exception of a brief absence this past summer following a positive Covid-19 test. He’ll give the Rangers some needed stability at the back of a starting staff that was — and still is — in need of multiple arms.

Perez will join fellow offseason signee Jon Gray and right-hander Dane Dunning as one of the only three locks in the Texas rotation. Lefty Taylor Hearn could get another look, depending on other moves that are made, but he was hit hard in limited work out of the rotation while thriving in the bullpen this past season. Right-hander A.J. Alexy had a big year in the upper minors but a tepid 4.70 ERA in 23 big league frames. Prospects Spencer Howard and Glenn Otto, acquired at the trade deadline, both were hit hard in their brief MLB looks. Right-hander Yerry Rodriguez and southpaw Brock Burke are both on the 40-man roster but were both ineffective in Triple-A this past season.

Put another way, Perez figures to be one of multiple arms acquired by the Rangers, whether via free agency or trade. Texas has been strongly linked to hometown star Clayton Kershaw, and the general belief is that Kershaw will either return to the Dodgers this winter or sign with the Rangers to be close to his family. The Rangers are also known to be keenly interested in A’s first baseman Matt Olson, and Oakland has several arms who could be on the trade block alongside their All-Star first baseman (Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Frankie Montas).

The Rangers’ hope is surely that 2021 No. 2 overall pick Jack Leiter and 2019 first-rounder Cole Winn — two of the sport’s most promising arms — will be able to factor into the big league rotation sooner than later. That may not be the case until 2023, however, so the veteran Perez will give them a bridge to those younger arms. His $4MM salary is a mere footnote in what’s been a massive offseason of spending for president of baseball operations Jon Daniels and general manager Chris Young. Texas has also signed Corey Seager (10 years, $325MM), Marcus Semien (seven years, $175MM), Gray (four years, $56MM) and Kole Calhoun (one year, $6.2MM), bumping their projected payroll to just under $134MM. That’s a notable increase from the past couple seasons but still a good bit shy of 2017’2 franchise-record $165MM payroll.

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View Comments (85)

Comments

  1. Dusty Baker's tooth pick.

    11 months ago

    And we are off!!!!

    Reply
    • DonnyDownvote

      11 months ago

      This is the big one!! I’m coming to join you, Elizabeth!!

      Reply
      • deweybelongsinthehall

        11 months ago

        Picturing Fred Sanford with his hand over his heart. Thanks for giving me a laugh.

        Reply
        • Monkey’s Uncle

          11 months ago

          Me too, I honestly laughed out loud at that, thank you.

    • NoCryingInBaseball

      11 months ago

      We should see a huge rush of signings now.
      Clubs have to compress the whole process, trying to get free agents signed and into spring training.
      Nothing normal about this. Spring training is crunched into only a few days now.

      Reply
  2. 48-team MLB

    11 months ago

    SCHEDULE THE PARADE!

    Reply
    • Curly Was The Smart Stooge

      11 months ago

      Martin spells “mediocre”

      Reply
      • 48-team MLB

        11 months ago

        I’m not a Rangers fan…

        Reply
        • Curly Was The Smart Stooge

          11 months ago

          I’ve confessed that as well, but I have yet to be absolved

      • JoeBrady

        11 months ago

        This is where a lot of people go astray.

        Yes, he is mediocre.

        But also yes, $4M for a mediocre pitcher is a good deal. There are a lot of teams that don’t think of how to fill in that #5/#6 slot.

        Reply
        • Curly Was The Smart Stooge

          11 months ago

          Thanks Joe for justifying mediocre
          I was worried I went astray

        • JC#1

          11 months ago

          Joe – agreed. Mediocre with experience and a solid mediocre track record can be better than a totally inexperienced AAA pitcher with no track record. More often that not AAA pitchers fall flat on their face the first year or two on the MLB.

        • JoeBrady

          11 months ago

          Almost no one survives without a little mediocrity. In fact, I think one of the most underrated building blocks of a good team is to be able to develop minimum-wage, league-average prospects. Give me 8 league-average players, at minimum wage, and I can fill in the other 7 key positions pretty easily.

        • Curly Was The Smart Stooge

          11 months ago

          JC#1, mediocre is ok, but I prefer, good, better, great, best or greatest on my team.
          Who compared anyone to an AAA pitcher?

        • Curly Was The Smart Stooge

          11 months ago

          Hey Joe, I need a mediocre poster, you available?

        • Daniel Youngblood

          11 months ago

          The Rangers have any number of young starters that would be just as mediocre for a fraction of the cost.

          Texas has a Brokeback Mountain problem. They don’t know how to quit certain guys.

        • JoeBrady

          11 months ago

          I assume you are more familiar with the Rangers than me, but just looking at the B-R stats, the only ones that had a better ERA was Dunning, and he was only slightly better with a 4.55. And they signed Gray.

          I’m curious who all these other pitchers are.

        • JoeBrady

          11 months ago

          Curly Was The Smart Stooge
          Hey Joe, I need a mediocre poster, you available?
          =================================
          I speak for all mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am the patron’s saint. Mediocrities everywhere… I absolve you…

        • Daniel Youngblood

          11 months ago

          I’d rather watch Dunning, Hearn, Otto, Alexy or even Allard get those innings than Martin Perez. At least there’s some upside with those guys, and they’d benefit from the experience.

          Sending Martin Perez to the mound every fifth day when you’re not going to be competing for a playoff spot to begin with is a waste of $4 million and however many innings he throws.

        • Curly Was The Smart Stooge

          11 months ago

          JoeBrady, Mediocre is the standard we set for our kids & future of our country, how’s that working out?

        • JoeBrady

          11 months ago

          I can concede that point. If the Rangers aren’t competing, which I agree, then starting the kids, including Spencer makes more sense.

        • Curly Was The Smart Stooge

          11 months ago

          I concur Joe

        • JoeBrady

          11 months ago

          Curly Was The Smart Stooge
          JoeBrady, Mediocre is the standard we set for our kids & future of our country, how’s that working out?
          ==================================
          I don’t see that being true. The idea being not everyone & everything can be excellent, You can strive for excellence, but you won’t get it. And if you own a team, you won’t get it.

          Another way to look at is, do you settle for mediocrity in your everyday life? I can afford a much nicer ride, but that would require cutting back on something else. For the Rangers, if they pay $60M for Seager & Semien, it means that have to go cheaper elsewhere.

      • lady1959

        11 months ago

        Human rain delay. He works so slow!!⚾️

        Reply
      • Franklin Souze

        11 months ago

        Love the shade tree pundits with their value projections as a” much needed stability” at the back of the rotation- Are you freaking kidding me…Lol
        I guess if your planning to be down 12 – zip in the eight on a routine bases, Perez may provide stability…..or …..something?
        The Chips Are Down …..2021 ALCS -Game Four.- NINTH INNING – what a freaking disaster..
        Anyway – We ( SAWX ), are looking forward to fun & crazy dogfight this season in the AL East .. – without this guy..

        Reply
  3. The_Voice_Of_REASON

    11 months ago

    Cancel the season, owners!

    Reply
    • 48-team MLB

      11 months ago

      No CAPS this time?

      Reply
    • HomerSexual

      11 months ago

      You da real MVP!

      Reply
    • Airo13

      11 months ago

      Time to go back to your hole.

      Reply
    • DarkSide830

      11 months ago

      Who is liking this dude’s comments? Finally looking at one on PC and I’m baffled to see the likes.

      Reply
      • 48-team MLB

        11 months ago

        @DarkSide830

        Don’t be fooled. He’s “liking” his own comments with his burners.

        Reply
      • coolhandneil

        11 months ago

        He has like 10 accounts.

        Reply
        • LordD99

          11 months ago

          @coolhand, bingo. He’ll post and have multiple likes in seconds.

      • beyou02215

        11 months ago

        He is probably liking them with fake/multiple accounts. It seems that he always has 3 likes.

        Reply
        • Curly Was The Smart Stooge

          11 months ago

          He’s like hard wood, he won’t last long

  4. Old York

    11 months ago

    Nice signing. Rangers are looking like WS favorites now!

    Reply
    • dale123

      11 months ago

      Oh bs perez sucked the first time we had him

      Reply
      • JC#1

        11 months ago

        Dale123 – that was Old Yack’s attempt at humor. It was second similar broken humor attempt in this thread, and millionth on mlbtraderumor site. It is like Putin a humanitarian a million times over and thinking it is funny.

        Reply
  5. DarkSide830

    11 months ago

    this dude is very wealthy for a 5.00 ERA pitcher most years.

    Reply
    • yankees500

      11 months ago

      The perks of being left handed

      Reply
  6. pinstripes17

    11 months ago

    THE STOVE IS HOT

    Reply
  7. dale123

    11 months ago

    Oh crap.this f###ing guy sucked ass the 1st time we had him.first screw up of off season for rangers.

    Reply
    • Pangolin

      11 months ago

      Well, except for the Semien, Gray, and Seager deals.

      Reply
  8. Ully

    11 months ago

    As a client of Octagon, I am surprised he didn’t sign for 8 million

    Reply
    • jdgoat

      11 months ago

      Boooooooo

      Reply
    • Hello, Newman

      11 months ago

      Dad joke of the day haha

      Reply
      • 48-team MLB

        11 months ago

        Everyone is confused by it. I’m sure there are eight sides to this story.

        Reply
        • Monkey’s Uncle

          11 months ago

          Eight is enough.

  9. The_Voice_Of_REASON

    11 months ago

    Do NOT sign Clayton Chokeshaw (Clayton ‘Kershaw’)

    Reply
    • dale123

      11 months ago

      Don’t sign scrubs like perez either

      Reply
  10. Rangers29

    11 months ago

    Bruh.

    Reply
    • Monkey’s Uncle

      11 months ago

      You guys will have to hold off on retiring his jersey number now. 😉

      Reply
    • DarkSide830

      11 months ago

      thanks for taking the bullet for the rest of the league.

      Reply
  11. Tacoshells

    11 months ago

    Trade for Matt Olson !

    Reply
    • 48-team MLB

      11 months ago

      How many tacos did it take to finally settle the CBA? My guess is 1,245.

      Reply
  12. MC Tim C

    11 months ago

    Me: Alright let’s see where Freeman, Castellanos, Correa, etc. sign!

    MLB: Best I can do is Ver Hagen and Martin Perez.

    Reply
  13. Ducey

    11 months ago

    He has been bought out of 4 contract years already. When you get told “Here’s $500K, hit the bricks” thats not a good sign.

    Maybe he will be better if they just keep him in the pen

    Reply
    • dale123

      11 months ago

      No just don’t sign crap like perez period.

      Reply
  14. Pedro Martinez’s Mango Tree

    11 months ago

    Can y’all STAND THE EXCITEMENT???

    Reply
  15. whyhayzee

    11 months ago

    Decent number 5 but you need your numbers 1 and 2 to go 6+ innings to make up for the extra bullpen load after his max 5 inning starts.

    Reply
  16. Rsox

    11 months ago

    Perez gave the Sox innings when they needed them and I’m guessing that is what he will do for the Rangers–hold down a rotation spot til a young starter is ready

    Reply
    • JoeBrady

      11 months ago

      Perez had a 102 ERA+ for the RS. If your #5 SP can give you a 102+, then you are going to win games. The RS semi-model is two .750 SPs, and 3 .500 SPs.

      Reply
  17. solaris602

    11 months ago

    Thank you, Red Sox, for NOT bringing Perez back for a third season. We’ve seen quite enough of him.

    Reply
  18. LordD99

    11 months ago

    Not the lefty starter you’re looking for.

    Reply
  19. mils100

    11 months ago

    Easy to dump on this but having a couple of mediocre back-end starters that cost little isn’t a bad move. The team currently has little pitching depth. So even if Perez is his typical below-average self, that maybe a couple of wins better than Chi Chi Gonzalez or Bibens-Dirx or whatever random Rangers shows up mid-season.

    Reply
  20. FatChance65

    11 months ago

    For the Red Sox, this is addition by subtraction.

    Reply
  21. 8ManLineupNoPitcherNoDH

    11 months ago

    Rangers didnt wait long to throw in the towel

    Reply
    • JC#1

      11 months ago

      8man – it depends on how Martin Perez is used. If he is slotted as starter #1 through #4 you are throwing in the towel. If he is starter #5 or depth 6 to 9 or a swingman then the Rangers are in good shape.

      Reply
      • 8ManLineupNoPitcherNoDH

        11 months ago

        I posted their rotation below. It’s pretty bad, maybe worst in MLB. They need serious help there.

        Reply
  22. 8ManLineupNoPitcherNoDH

    11 months ago

    Gray, Perez, Dunning, Hearn?, and someone else. Lol enjoy 5th place.

    Reply
    • DarkSide830

      11 months ago

      Gray’s their de facto ace and has a career ERA of 4.59. YIKES.

      Reply
    • Rsox

      11 months ago

      Kolby Allard and Spencer Howard are the likely two and Cole Winn should be up at some point. Don’t sleep on the Rangers possibly adding someone like Zack Grienke. All the money they are spending is not with 5th place in mind

      Reply
  23. pwndroia

    11 months ago

    Glad this guy is out of Boston. He’s mediocre at best.

    Reply
    • FatChance65

      11 months ago

      Mediocre would be an improvement.

      Reply
      • pwndroia

        11 months ago

        Good point

        Reply
  24. Weasel 2

    11 months ago

    It’s a good signing. Depth counts. Anyone who thinks a capable but mediocre starter isn’t a good investment has not been paying attention.

    The dodgers absolutely ran out of healthy starters in the playoffs last year.

    Reply
  25. Monkey’s Uncle

    11 months ago

    Martin will absolutely eat some innings for you. It’s just that he’ll give you indigestion while doing it.

    Reply
  26. mcmillankmm

    11 months ago

    Thank goodness the Sox didn’t bring him back

    Reply
  27. Dorothy_Mantooth

    11 months ago

    This guy is Jeckle & Hyde. He’ll pitch two great back to back games, giving you hope that he’s finally realized his potential. Then he’ll implode in his next couple of starts and be pulled after 3 innings. But all in all, you can do a lot worse for a 5th starter. Rangers need to sign two more starters, but not a bad depth signing for the money.

    Reply
  28. murphtx

    11 months ago

    After that signing give me the lockout back! Just Rangers organization being Rangers!!!

    Reply
  29. jintman

    11 months ago

    Dude must have compromising pictures of some front office guys considering he always finds a nice contract while being sh1tty. God bless his good fortune

    Reply
  30. squattinghen

    11 months ago

    Of course, as a Rangers fan I want someone better, but spots have to be filled, and this isn’t a bad back end filling. It’s not my money, but doesn’t seem bad in the baseball contract world.

    Reply
  31. RickEO

    11 months ago

    As a Redsox fan… thank baby Jesus

    Reply
  32. Peart of the game

    11 months ago

    Looks like the Rangers just got their #3 starter.

    Reply
    • pwndroia

      11 months ago

      Perez is nothing more than a #5

      Reply

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