Report: Red Sox sign Martin Perez to one-year deal
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
After a string of depth moves, the Red Sox have reportedly remained busy late into Thursday night, signing lefty starter Martin Perez to a one-year deal with a club option for 2021, according to Ken Rosenthal.
Per Rosenthal, the deal is worth $6 million in 2020, and worth $6.25 million in 2021 should the team pick up the option.
The 28-year-old Perez spent the 2019 season with the Twins, and finished with 10 wins and a career-best 135 strikeouts in 165.1 innings of work. The Venezuelan-born hurler also finished the 2019 year with a 5.12 ERA, and 1.52 WHIP. But the archaic numbers on Perez in 2019 do not tell the ‘whole story’ on his year with the Twins, as explained by MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
Interesting to dig into the deeper numbers on Statcast when it comes to Martin Perez. The ERA (5.12) does not tell the whole story.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) December 13, 2019
85.4 mph exit velocity (top 4% in MLB, min. 400 batted ball events)
29.7% hard hit rate (top 7% in MLB last year)
Prior to his 2019 with Minnesota, Perez spent seven seasons with the Rangers, winning a career-high 13 games in 2017.
The addition of Perez comes on the same day the team officially lost Rick Porcello to a one-year, $10 million deal with the Mets, and with the team potentially looking for stopgap options should they move one of their high-priced pitchers via trade.
And with Perez in the fold, the Red Sox are slated to have four left-handed starters in their 2020 rotation, as he’ll join a group already featuring Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez, and David Price. But Price, of course, is currently on the trade block, with as many as five potential suitors eyeing the vet due $96 million over the next three years.
Perez has a 53-56 record and 4.72 ERA in 157 starts over eight MLB seasons.