Martín Pérez Jiménez (born April 4, 1991), is a Venezuelan

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Texas Rangers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. Listed at and , he throws and bats left-handed.

Professional career

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers signed Pérez in 2007 for $580,000 as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. While only making 15 short starts in 62 innings at Rookie-level Spokane, Pérez went 1–2 with a 3.65

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). '' Baseball America'' ranked Pérez as the #17 baseball prospect in their top 100 for 2010. On June 26, 2012, Pérez was called up by the Rangers. The next day he made his first major league appearance against the Detroit Tigers. He gave up 2 hits and 4 runs while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning. On June 30, Pérez made his first major league start, pitching 5 and a third innings and striking out five while only giving up two runs in a 7–2 win over the

Oakland A's The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. On August 1, Pérez was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to make room for pitcher

Ryan Dempster Ryan Scott Dempster (born May 3, 1977), is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. Dempster batted and t ...

. Pérez went into 2013 spring training competing for the fifth spot in the Rangers rotation (which eventually went to

Nick Tepesch Nicholas James Tepesch (born October 12, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, and Toronto Blue Jays. Career Amateur Tepe ...

), but on March 3 in a start against the Mariners, he broke his pitching forearm when it was hit by a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

by Brad Miller. After making 4 rehab starts (2 with Frisco, 2 with Round Rock), Pérez was recalled to make a start on May 27 in a doubleheader against the Diamondbacks. In his season debut, he went 5.1 innings, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits with 2 strikeouts. After the game, he was optioned to Round Rock. After 4 starts at Round Rock, he was recalled on June 22 to replace

Josh Lindblom Joshua William Lindblom (born June 15, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, ...

in the rotation. Pérez threw his first complete game on August 11 against the Houston Astros. In 20 starts with the Rangers, Pérez went 10–6 with a 3.62 ERA, striking out 84 in innings. On November 7, 2013, Pérez signed a four-year, $12.5 million contract with the Rangers that included three club options, keeping him under team control through 2020. He received a $1 million signing bonus, and was to earn $750,000 in 2014, $1 million in 2015, $2.9 million in 2016, and $4.4 million in 2017. The 2018 option was worth $6 million and had a $2.45 million

buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" the present equity holders of the target company. A buyout ...

. The 2019 option was worth $7.5 million and had a $750,000 buyout. The 2020 option was worth $9 million and has a $750,000 buyout. On April 23, 2014, Pérez threw nine shutout innings against the Oakland A's to secure his second consecutive complete game

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. After several ineffective starts following the shutouts, Pérez was placed on the disabled list due to inflammation in his pitching elbow. On May 19, 2014, Pérez underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a partially torn UCL in the aforementioned elbow, which kept him out of action for the remainder of

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Pérez began the 2015 season on the 60-day disabled list to continue recovery from Tommy John surgery. Pérez had his first major league hit on July 15, 2016, against Chicago Cubs' pitcher Kyle Hendricks. He hit a single to

Kris Bryant Kristopher Lee Bryant (born January 4, 1992), nicknamed "KB", is an American professional baseball third baseman and outfielder for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs and San ...

. He had been hitless his first nine at bats. In 2016 he was 10–11 and had the fewest strikeouts per 9 innings in the major leagues (4.67). He had more batters reach base against him on errors, 16, than any other pitcher in the major leagues. In 2017, Pérez was 13–12 with a 4.32 ERA, and had the highest WHIP among major league pitchers (1.48). He also had the highest

percentage allowed (24.8%) of all major league pitchers. On April 30, 2018, Pérez was placed on the disabled list with discomfort in his right elbow. He was activated on July 14, replacing Alex Claudio, who was placed on the disabled list. In 2018, he was 2–7 with a 6.22 ERA.

Minnesota Twins

On January 30, 2019, Pérez signed a one-year contract with the Minnesota Twins. He was expected to compete for the fifth spot in the starting rotation. During the 2019 season, he made 32 appearances with 29 starts, with a WHIP of 1.52, the highest in the major leagues. He compiled a 10–7 record in innings pitched. After the season, he became a free agent.

Boston Red Sox

On December 19, 2019, Pérez signed a one-year contract with the

; the contract also included a team option for the 2021 season. Overall with the 2020 Red Sox, Pérez appeared in 12 games (all starts), compiling a 3–5 record with 4.50 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched. He led the AL in walks per nine innings pitched, with 4.1, and in lowest strikeout/walk ratio, at 1.64. On November 1, the Red Sox declined to exercise their $6.85 million option for Pérez for the 2021 season, paying him a $500,000 buyout and making him a free agent. On February 12, 2021, Pérez officially re-signed with the Red Sox on a one-year, $4.5 million contract. On February 17, MLB.com mistakenly announced that Perez would be switching his uniform number to 33, which had not been issued by the Red Sox since

Jason Varitek Jason Andrew Varitek (; born April 11, 1972), nicknamed Tek, is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He is currently the game planning coordinator, a uniformed coaching position, for the Boston Red Sox. After being traded ...

's retirement in 2012; Pérez clarified that this was an error and that he had no intention of changing numbers. He began the season in the Red Sox rotation, then was moved to the bullpen in early August. On August 30, Pérez was placed on the COVID-related injured list; he returned to the team on September 14. Overall during the regular season, Pérez made 36 appearances (22 starts) for Boston, compiling a 7–8 record with 4.74 ERA; he struck out 97 batters in 114 innings. In the postseason, he made four relief appearances against

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

in the American League Championship Series, allowing five runs in three innings. On November 7, the team declined to exercise their $6 million option on Pérez for 2022, making him a free agent again.

Texas Rangers (second stint)

On March 14, 2022, Pérez signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Texas Rangers. On May 29, Pérez took perfect game bid versus the Houston Astros into the seventh inning until

Chas McCormick Chas Kane McCormick (born April 19, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). McCormick attended Millersville University of Pennsylvania and played college baseball for the Mara ...

led off with a double. Pérez was selected as an American League All-Star in 2022. Over 32 starts in 2022, he posted a 12–8 record with a 2.89 ERA and 169 strikeouts over innings. On November 15, 2022, Pérez accepted a one-year qualifying offer worth $19.65 million to return to Texas for the 2023 season.

Pitching style

Pérez features a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is c ...

that is regularly clocked at , a sharp breaking curveball, and a

change-up A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. His velocity is not that of a

power pitcher Power pitcher is a term in baseball for a pitcher who relies on pitch velocity at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts, and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of ...

, but his pitches have good movement. In 2007, when he was first signed by the Rangers, he was likened to be a cross between

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...

and Greg Maddux.

References

External links

Martín Pérez
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Martin 1991 births Living people Boston Red Sox players American League All-Stars Frisco RoughRiders players Hickory Crawdads players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Minnesota Twins players Navegantes del Magallanes players People from Guanare Round Rock Express players Spokane Indians players Texas Rangers players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2017 World Baseball Classic players