Morning Rundown: Pirates sign left-handed pitcher Martin Perez
Deal is woth $8 million over one year
With an extreme need for starting pitching, the Pirates signed left-handed pitcher Martin Perez to a one-year contract worth $8 million.
The lefty pitched on the World Series-winning Texas Rangers last year, posting a 10-4 record and a 4.45 ERA in 141.2 innings pitched. He wasn’t much of a strikeout pitcher, with a 15.3% rate, but did induce ground balls 45.5% of the time.
He didn’t pitch in the Wild Card or Divisional Round but once each in the ALCS and World Series. He allowed five runs on nine hits and three walks across 4.2 innings pitched.
The 2022 season was a career year for Perez, posting 12 wins and a 2.89 ERA across 196.1 innings pitched. It was the only season of his career where he posted a strikeout rate of 20% or more.
Perez, 32, has an 85-81 career record with a 4.44 ERA in 288 games, 243 of which were starts.
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This is the offseason they should've had in 2021.
Reasonably competent big leaguers who won't "block" any prospect worth a shot for nearly zero dollars spent. A watchable club that actually supports the young talent that matriculates to the show while still rebuilding young talent in the minor league ranks through veteran trades, drafts, and IFAs.
The fact that we're getting it in 2024 is I'm certain what's causing the consternation amongst fans more than the moves themselves.
It's been a really disappointing offseason. I suppose I was stupid for hoping they would make moves to actually compete. With the acquisition of Marco and Perez, I suppose they're done adding to the rotation. Two reclamation projects when the market was flush with mid-level, competent starters is kind of a joke. Rowdy Tellez is awful.
Knowing what we know now with Endy, Mitch Garver would be a perfect addition to this team, being that he can catch and play 1B. An offseason that saw Garver, Bader, McCutchen, Wacha, and Gonzalez/Perez added would be within their means and make this team interesting.