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Hector Perez

Phillies Sign Hector Perez To Minor League Contract

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The Phillies have signed right-hander Hector Perez to a minor league deal, as per MLB.com’s official transactions page.  Perez will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to begin his tenure with his new team.

The 27-year-old Perez is a veteran of two MLB seasons, albeit in cup of coffee form.  He debuted with one game and 1 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays in 2020, and then didn’t reach the majors again until this season, when he threw a third of an inning for the Rays in one appearance.  That Rays game took place just on August 16, and since then Perez was designated for assignment, outrighted off Tampa’s 40-man roster, and he chose free agency over accepting the assignment (he had that right due to a previous outright in his career).

A pro since 2015, Perez has been a member of five different organizations during his career, and he’ll now try to gain a bit of stability with Philadelphia.  From the Phillies’ perspective, Perez offers some bullpen depth at the minor league level.  The club’s next offday isn’t until September 7, so Perez might get another shot in the big leagues during this stretch if the Phils want to cycle a fresh arm into the mix.

Perez has a 3.78 ERA over 583 career innings in the minors, with a 4.81 ERA over 63 2/3 frames at the Triple-A level.  Working mostly as a reliever in recent years, Perez has a 26.7% strikeout rate and 14.35% walk rate during his time in the minor leagues.

Hector Perez Elects Free Agency

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Hector Perez has elected to become a free agent, as per the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page.  Perez cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Rays earlier this week, and he opted to test the open market rather than accept an outright assignment to the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate.

Because Perez had previously been outrighted in his career, he has the right to turn down any future outright assignments.  That first outright move came back in April, when the Rays brought Perez to the active roster for a one-day stint, but then designated him (and subsequently outrighted him to Triple-A) before he could appear in a game.

It has been a whirlwind of transactions for Perez just within the last four days, as Tampa Bay only selected his contract from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.  The 27-year-old Perez tossed one third of an inning in the Rays’ 6-1 victory over the Giants and was then DFA’ed the next day.  This brief outing marked Perez’s first Major League game since his big league debut, when he threw 1 2/3 frames for the Blue Jays in 2020.

These two games represents the entirety of Perez’s MLB resume, as he spent the rest of his nine-year pro career in the minor leagues.  An international signing for the Astros in 2014, Perez has played for five different organizations at the minor league level, and came to the Rays last winter after they selected him away from the Orioles in the minor league version of the Rule 5 Draft.

Trending mostly towards relief pitching over the last few years, Perez has started 82 of his 197 career games in the minors, totaling 583 innings.  He has a respectable 3.78 ERA and a 26.7% strikeout rate over his time on the farm, but control has long been an issue for Perez, with a career minor league walk rate of 14.35%.

Rays Designate Hector Perez For Assignment, Activate Andrew Kittredge

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The Rays announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Hector Perez for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to fellow righty Andrew Kittredge, who has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Perez, 27, was only selected to the big league roster yesterday — a move intended to give the Rays a fresh arm in the bullpen. With Kittredge’s return looming, a short stay on the roster for the out-of-options righty always seemed like a possibility. That Perez pitched in yesterday’s game and allowed four of the five batters he faced to reach base surely didn’t help his cause. Yesterday’s appearance marked Perez’s second career big league stint, though his other — a 2020 cup of coffee in Toronto — was similarly brief. The Jays gave him 1 2/3 innings back in 2020, during which he allowed a pair of runs.

All told, Perez has completed just two innings in the Major Leagues and allowed three runs on six hits and four walks with one strikeout in that time. He has a career 3.78 ERA and 26.7% strikeout rate in the minors, however, including a 4.08 ERA and 30% strikeout rate (albeit against a 13% walk rate) in 53 innings at the Triple-A level so far in 2023. Players who’ve been designated for assignment can no longer be traded now that the deadline has passed, so Perez will be placed on outright waivers or release waivers within the next five days. He’s been outrighted previously in his career, so he can refuse a minor league assignment and explore other opportunities if he goes unclaimed on outright waivers.

The 33-year-old Kittredge will be returning from a 14-month absence following last June’s Tommy John surgery. Prior to his injury, he’d emerged as one of Tampa Bay’s best relievers, pitching to a 2.17 ERA with a 24.2% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate, 51.9% ground-ball rate and 0.99 homers per nine over the life of 99 2/3 innings from 2020-22. Along the way, he picked up 14 saves and seven holds.

Kittredge’s return is a massive boost for the Rays’ bullpen, but it won’t do much to stop the bleeding in a rotation that has now lost Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs to season-ending surgeries. Rasmussen underwent flexor surgery earlier this season, while both Springs and McClanahan required Tommy John procedures to repair ligament damage in their elbow. The still-recent revelation that McClanahan would require Tommy John surgery is a particularly brutal blow, given both his status as a legitimate No. 1 starter and the timing of the injury; he’ll likely miss the entire 2024 season as well (or at the very least the vast majority of it).

Kittredge will join Pete Fairbanks, Jason Adam and Colin Poche as a viable late-inning option for manager Kevin Cash. He’s also no stranger to working as an opener, if the Rays prefer to opt for some bullpen games in light of their injury woes. Kittredge has “started” 15 games in his career but never gone more than three innings. He’s frequently worked two innings to open a game for the Rays. Currently, Tampa Bay’s rotation consists of Tyler Glasnow, offseason signee Zach Eflin, deadline acquisition Aaron Civale and reliever-turned-starter Zack Littell.

Rays Designate Ryan Thompson for Assignment, Select Hector Perez

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3:55pm: Thompson had been on the minor league injured list with a minor elbow issue, tweets MLBTR’s Steve Adams, but was given a clean bill of health after a recent MRI was reviewed by team doctors and a third-party doctor. He threw a bullpen session this morning.

12:50pm: After placing right-handed reliever Kevin Kelly on the 15-day injured list with an ankle sprain, the Rays have selected Hector Perez from Triple-A Durham to take his place in the bullpen, as first reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. In a corresponding move, the team has designated Ryan Thompson for assignment to make room for Perez on the 40-man roster.

Kelly was drafted by the Guardians in 2019, and the Rockies picked him up in the Rule 5 draft this past December. Colorado flipped him to Tampa Bay the same day. He has performed well for the Rays this season, pitching to a 3.48 ERA and 3.89 SIERA in 48 games out of the bullpen, although he has shown signs of tiring since the All-Star break. The rookie is already nearing his career-high in innings pitched. It is unclear how severe Kelly’s ankle injury is, but he will not be eligible to return until August 31.

Perez made his MLB debut for the Blue Jays in 2020, pitching in a single game. He has not pitched in a major league game since; he had his contract selected by the Rays earlier this season but was DFA’d without appearing in a game. He came to Tampa Bay this winter in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. In 53 innings at Triple-A, he has a 4.08 ERA. His 30% strikeout rate is impressive, but his 13% walk rate is a cause for concern.

Thompson also came to the Rays organization in the minor league portion of a Rule 5 draft, back in 2018. He was a solid bullpen piece from 2020-22, appearing in 108 games with a 3.50 ERA and 3.42 SIERA. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been nearly as effective in 2023. He has bounced back and forth between the Rays and Durham Bulls, and while his 3.26 ERA and 30.4% strikeout rate in Triple-A are impressive, his 6.11 ERA in 17 2/3 major league innings is not.

Thompson has been on the minor league injured list since August 6, so he cannot be placed on outright waivers. Since the trade deadline has passed, the Rays will have to put him on release waivers in the coming days. He’s being paid a $1MM salary in 2023 and still has about $247K of that sum left on his deal. A new team would take on that money upon claiming him but would also gain an additional three years of club control over the right-hander.

Rays Select Heath Hembree

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The Rays made a series of roster moves today, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Right-hander Taj Bradley and infielder Vidal Bruján have been optioned to the minors, making room for outfielder Jose Siri to be activated from the injured list and right-hander Heath Hembree to have his contract selected. A spot for Hembree on the 40-man was already opened when the club designated righty Hector Perez for assignment on the weekend. Topkin adds that Perez has now cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham.

Hembree, 34, has appeared in the past 10 MLB seasons and will make it 11 in a row as soon as he gets into a game. He had many good seasons for the Red Sox earlier in his career, racking up double-digit holds in 2017 and 2018, but he’s gone into journeyman mode more recently. Since the start of the 2020 season, he’s suited up for the Red Sox, Phillies, Mets, Reds, Pirates and Dodgers. He registered a 6.64 ERA over those three seasons with an 11.1% walk rate but also struck out 27.3% of batters faced.

The Rays took a flier on him by signing him to a minor league deal in the offseason. He’s made eight appearances for the Bulls so far this year with a 1.29 ERA, though a 90.9% strand rate has surely helped him keep that down. He’s struck out 25% of batters faced thus far but walked 15.6%. He hasn’t been at his best over the past few years but the Rays have a knack for getting pitchers into peak form and will try to do that with Hembree.

The optioning of Bradley comes as a bit of a surprise because he’s been pitching well, registering a 3.52 ERA through three starts. Topkin and Kristie Ackert report that the move is more about transitioning him to the traditional five-day rotation of the majors, as he had previously been working on a six-day routine and the club didn’t want him to make the adjustment in the big leagues. Without Bradley, the Rays are down to a three-man rotation of Shane McClanahan, Zach Eflin and Drew Rasmussen. They are generally not afraid to do bullpen games, including multi-inning pitchers like Josh Fleming or Yonny Chirinos, though those guys could also make some traditional starts as well. Bradley will likely be back later in the season, once he’s properly made the workload switch.

Perez was selected to the roster on the weekend but designated for assignment a day later without getting into a game. That means his big league résumé still consists of just one game with the Blue Jays in 2020. Since he has a previous career outright, he had the right to reject another such move and elect free agency, but it seems he’ll stick with the Bulls and try to work his way back to the majors.

Rays Activate Zach Eflin, DFA Hector Perez

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According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the Rays have activated right-hander Zach Eflin from the 15-day IL to start this afternoon’s game against the White Sox. In a corresponding move, the club has designated right-hander Hector Perez for assignment.

Eflin’s return will help fortify a Rays rotation currently wracked with injuries. In addition to Tyler Glasnow having yet to make his debut this season thanks to an oblique strain, breakout left-hander Jeffrey Springs saw his season end last week when it was announced he is set to undergo Tommy John surgery. Eflin, who signed a three-year, $40MM deal to join the Rays over the offseason, had a 3.27 ERA and 2.63 FIP in two starts before being placed on the 15-day injured list due to back tightness. The ailment clearly proved to be minor, as Eflin is returning after a backdated minimum stay on the IL.

That’s good news for the Rays, who now have another reliable arm in the rotation alongside Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, and prospect Taj Bradley. With Bradley and Rasmussen set to pitch the next two days, the Rays will need another starter on Wednesday, though it’s possible they could turn to a bullpen game led by lefty Josh Fleming, who opened the season in the rotation but has since been bumped to the bullpen after struggling in his first start of the season.

As for Perez, the 26-year-old right-hander was selected just yesterday and did not end up making an appearance during his stint on the roster. Perez has made just one appearance in his big league career, a 1 2/3 inning outing with the Blue Jays in 2020 during which he surrendered two runs on three hits and three walks. Perez has long struggled with his control, as evidenced by his career 14.4% walk rate. Those control problems have likely contributed to his struggles to return to a major league mound over the past three seasons. The Rays will now have seven days to trade, waive, or release Perez.

Rays Select Hector Perez

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Prior to today’s extra-innings victory over the White Sox, the Rays selected the contract of right-hander Hector Perez from Triple-A.  To create space on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, respectively, the Rays optioned righty Cooper Criswell to Triple-A, and moved Jeffrey Springs to the 60-day injured list.  (Springs will miss the rest of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.)

Perez didn’t pitch in today’s game, so he is still waiting for his second career MLB appearance.  The 26-year-old’s resume in the Show consists of one game and 1 2/3 innings of work with the Blue Jays in 2020, and Perez was charged with two earned runs in his lone outing.  Originally an international signing for the Astros in 2014, Perez was part of the trade package Houston sent to Toronto for Roberto Osuna at the 2018 trade deadline, and the Jays then dealt Perez to the Reds during the 2020-21 offseason.

After joining the Orioles a free agent last season, Perez then made his way to Tampa Bay via the minor league version of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft.  Perez has only a 7.71 ERA over seven innings with Triple-A Durham this season, but a lot of the damage came in one particularly poor outing, as the right-hander allowed four runs in one inning to Syracuse on April 18 (his last time on the mound).  Perez does have a whopping 37.1% strikeout rate, whiffing 13 of his 35 batters faced.

Perez has always been pretty good at missing bats during his minor league career, but a lack of control has been a persistent issue.  Walks have been a factor in Perez’s lack of results in the upper minors (4.53 ERA in 204 2/3 Double-A innings, 8.15 ERA in 17 2/3 Triple-A innings), but his walk rate was down to a more palatable 8.6% in the small sample of his 2023 work.  Perez is out of minor league options, so unless he sticks in Tampa’s bullpen, the Rays would have to designate him for assignment and expose him for waivers in order to try and sneak Perez back to the farm system.

2022 Rule 5 Draft Results

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The 2022 Rule 5 draft will begin at 4pm Central time today at the Winter Meetings in San Diego. This will be the first time since 2019 that the meetings will be held in person, as the 2020 edition was virtual because of the pandemic and the 2021 draft was cancelled entirely due to the lockout.

As a refresher, the Rule 5 draft is a way for players potentially talented enough for the big leagues but blocked by their current clubs to find opportunities elsewhere. Any players that were 18 and under at the time of their original signing and were signed in 2018 or earlier, and any players 19 or older and signed in 2019 or earlier, who are not on a club’s 40-man roster are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft.

The clubs will draft in reverse order of the 2022 standings, with no club obligated to make a selection when it’s their turn. If they do make a pick, they will have to pay $100K to the team they select from. The selected players must stay on the active roster (or injured list) for the entire 2023 season or else be placed on waivers. If they clear waivers, they must be offered back to their original team. They cannot be optioned to the minors. The most recent edition in 2020 saw some notable names move around, such as Akil Baddoo going from the Twins to the Tigers while Garrett Whitlock went from the Yankees to the Red Sox.

This post will be updated with the results as they come in…

First Round

1. Nationals: RHP Thad Ward (Red Sox) (hat tip to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com)
2. A’s: 1B Ryan Noda (Dodgers)
3. Pirates: LHP Jose Hernandez (Dodgers)
4. Reds: OF Blake Sabol (Pirates); Reds later traded Sabol to Giants for cash or a player to be named later
5. Royals: pass
6. Tigers: RHP Mason Englert (Rangers)
7. Rangers: pass
8. Rockies: RHP Kevin Kelly (Guardians); Rockies later traded Kelly to Rays for cash considerations
9. Marlins: RHP Nic Enright (Guardians)
10. Angels: pass
11. D-backs: pass
12. Cubs: pass
13. Twins: pass
14. Red Sox: pass
15. White Sox: RHP Nick Avila (Giants)
16. Giants: pass
17. Orioles: RHP Andrew Politi (Red Sox)
18. Brewers: RHP Gus Varland (Dodgers)
19. Rays: pass
20. Phillies: RHP Noah Song (Red Sox)
21. Padres: LHP Jose Lopez (Rays)
22. Mariners: RHP Chris Clarke (Cubs)
23. Guardians: pass
24. Blue Jays: pass
25. Cardinals:RHP Wilking Rodriguez (Yankees)
26. Yankees: pass
27. Mets: RHP Zach Greene (Yankees)
27. Braves: pass
29. Astros: pass
30. Dodgers: pass

Second Round

  • All teams passed

The minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft also occurred this afternoon. Those players will not go onto the selecting teams’ 40-man roster. A few former major leaguers changed uniforms. They include Hector Perez from Baltimore to the Rays, Josh Palacios from the Nationals to the Pirates, Jared Oliva from the Pirates to the Angels, Nick Burdi from the Padres to the Cubs, Peter Solomon from the Pirates to the D-Backs and Jonathan Arauz from the Orioles to the Mets.

Orioles, Hector Perez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Orioles have signed reliever Héctor Pérez to a minor league contract, according to the team’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to the team’s Florida complex but will presumably head to a high minors affiliate after building into game shape.

Pérez, 26 next month, has just one major league appearance under his belt. That came with the Blue Jays in 2020, when he tossed 1 2/3 innings in a loss to the Yankees. The 6’3″ righty isn’t all that far removed from being one of the better pitching prospects in the Astros’ farm system, though. He topped out as Houston’s #7 prospect heading into the 2018 season, according to Baseball America, and slotted among the Astros’ and Jays’ top 30 minor leaguers each season between 2017-19.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Pérez has been involved in a pair of trades during his career. Houston packaged him alongside Ken Giles and David Paulino for Roberto Osuna at the 2018 deadline. After a couple seasons in the upper minors with Toronto — and the aforementioned lone big league outing — the Jays shipped him to the Reds in January 2021 for a player to be named later (eventually announced as minor league outfielder Darlin Guzman).

Pérez didn’t make an MLB appearance with Cincinnati. He split the most recent campaign between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Louisville, struggling at both stops. Overall, he posted a 6.16 ERA in 38 innings, striking out a serviceable 24.9% of opposing hitters but fighting extreme control issues. Pérez walked 24.4% of batters faced, and the Reds designated him for assignment in June. He cleared outright waivers and qualified for minor league free agency at the end of the season once Cincinnati opted not to add him back to the 40-man roster.

During his time as a prospect, Pérez was praised for a fastball that reached the mid-upper 90s and a promising splitter. He’ll try to more effectively harness that arsenal and emerge as a relief option for the O’s. Baltimore’s bullpen has been solid thus far, placing 15th in ERA (3.52), 22nd in strikeout/walk rate differential (12.8 percentage points) and leading the majors with a 48.2% ground-ball percentage.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/8/21

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Today’s minor moves:

  • The Blue Jays announced they’ve acquired outfield prospect Darlin Guzman from the Reds as the player to be named later in the teams’ January deal that sent right-hander Héctor Pérez to Cincinnati. Guzman joined the Reds during the 2017-18 international signing period and spent the next two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. He hit .306/.361/.537 over 391 plate appearances in the DSL and was with the Reds’ Arizona Complex League team in 2021. The 20-year-old has never appeared on a Reds system ranking at Baseball America or FanGraphs. Pérez, meanwhile, was outrighted off the 40-man roster last month after struggling with Triple-A Louisville. He remains in the organization but hasn’t made a big league appearance with Cincinnati.
  • The Cubs announced that catcher Taylor Gushue has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Iowa. The 27-year-old does not have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization as high minors depth. A longtime Nationals farmhand, Gushue signed with the Cubs over the winter and has hit .272/.328/.440 over 137 plate appearances with Iowa this season. That earned him his first promotion to the major leagues last week, but he was designated for assignment having appeared in just two games when Chicago signed Robinson Chirinos to a big league deal.
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