The Mariners signed left-hander Oliver Perez to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced. The Boras Corporation represents the 30-year-old, who didn't pitch in the Major Leagues in 2011.
Perez struck out 239 batters with a 2.98 ERA as a 22-year-old in 2004. After he struggled with his command for two seasons, the Pirates traded him to the Mets for Xavier Nady. Perez posted a 3.91 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 371 innings from 2007-08 and the Mets signed him to a regrettable three-year, $36MM contract. They got just 112 1/3 innings of 6.81 ERA ball out of the investment before releasing Perez last March.
Perez pitched 75 2/3 solid innings for the Nationals' Double-A club in 2011. He finished the season with a 3.09 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 15 starts.
why?
Depth
why?
Zero risk
Zero reward as well
Yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.
Haha sorry. Justa little bitter
its a minor league deal, people do not need to question why.
Gio Gonzales 1.0
just stop
What does that makes Gio Gonzales? Gio Gonzales 2.0? Wouldn’t it be weird if Gio Gonzales was Gio Gonzales 2.0?
Waste of a roster spot.
He hasn’t made the roster.
AAA Roster.
Waste of a spot on any level.
LOL never thought I’d hear about this dude ever again.
HAHAHAHAHAHA what a waste of time. Even the Mariners minor league system should not be this desperate.
A favor to Boras. Earned the Ms a discount for Prince.
more like Gio Gonzalez -50.7
The Mariners arent going to do much this season anyway. Its a minor league deal and a low risk high reward flyer. Maybe something happens and he is a solid 5? No risk
Low risk, sure. High reward….no.
The M’s need arms in AAA. Their shiney arms should start the season in AA Jackson where it’s warm. Tacoma and the PCL has a lot of very cold ball parks in April/May. Hultzen and Paxton should start in Jackson and move to Tacoma or Seattle when it gets warmer.
I’ve never really thought about it like that…
There is certainly some potential for high reward with a guy who has a 9.1 K/9 over a 9 year career. It doesn’t hurt to stash him in Tacoma as depth.
So the one percent chance that all of a sudden Oliver Perez finds his game and pitches sub par is automatically stricken? The Mariners are NOT doing anything this year anyway so like i said low risk because if he sucks he sucks who cares, If he pitches half decent? idk seems like a plus to me. Dont think the FO is expecting him to give Felix a run for Ace
And to think I actually wanted them to trade for him while whe was in Pittsburgh because he reminded me a litte of Randy Johnson. Good times.
Wow!!! Why sign this bum? He should be a bag boy at a supermarket right now, instead of being a pitcher. He gives a bad name to pitchers.
… and to bag boys…
He’s basically been hired to eat innings in Tacoma and in Spring Training. They might as well have signed a bag boy, but a bag boy would still require the same minimum wage, minor league contract (speculation) that Oliver Perez is getting.
Do the rainiers really need him?
Depth you never know someone could get hurt and he could do a 180
[Insert World Series joke here]
Your move Rangers and Angels
pass. go ahead and move again.
Hahaha….good one.
It’s a 3 for 1 deal. Sign Perez and EJax, and they get Prince too.
Isn’t that 3 for 2?
Ooohhh sorry M’s fans. We know all too well….
Wouldn’t you like to have Vargas and Carp by now?
No, not really.
You should. At least Carp anyway.
Why? Mets literally have 3 Carps already in Ike, Murphy, and Duda – and they all are better hitters than Carp is
LOLMariners
That doesn’t work.
Where is your source?
Regrettable is an understatement
Clearly the words “Minor League Deal” is being overlooked here……
I thought I remembered who this guy was, went to YouTube, and laughed when I finally remembered.
Dudes – It’s an invitation to spring training. The team (in this case the M’s) is like your buddy who is 45, divorced and has partial custody of the 3 kids. It’s kind of pointless to criticize him when he wants to ask out the 38 year old who was pretty hot once and is still moderately attractive. You know she’s past her prime but, hell, your track record hasn’t been so great lately either. Maybe something clicks and she finds her way into your hot tub. If not, you go your separate ways and lament not the modest dinner and bar tab, never expecting she was the girl of your dreams worthy of a long-term relationship.
Well geez, when you put it that way…
Say it isn’t so.
Who needs Michael Pineda when you can get Oliver Perez
lol, I was just gonna type that.
Classic “trying to catch lightning in a bottle” signing here. Of course, this guy hasn’t generated anything but a blip of static in the last 3 years, but hey, it’s a minor league deal. If he sucks, you jettison him with no real damage done. The hope probably is, Perez holds down the #5 spot as a league-average pitcher until Hultzen is ready, keeping his service time down, saving the M’s some money down the line. Anything more would be the bonus plan.
Oliver Perez couldn’t even generate a static charge.
What does it hurt? If he sucks it is not as though they are paying a ton of money or traded a blue chip player to get him.
His number in Mexico
0-2 0.63 ERA 14.1 IP 8 H 2 R 1 ER 8 BB 19 K 1.12 WHIP .157 AVG
He was used as a lefty specialist most of the time
I would rather see Charlie Furbush in the number 5 spot (and I really don’t want to see him start games) than see Oliver Perez start games for the 2012 Seattle Mariners. That said, this is a minor league signing. He will likely provide pitching depth at AAA Tacoma.
Hell, I’d rather see Luke French… that said, I don’t think Perez will see any time with the big league club this season unless the bullpen is ravaged with injuries and they get desperate…
I witnessed Oliver Perez win his MLB debut against Jamie Moyer and the Seattle Mariners on Father’s Day 2002 at San Diego’s old Qualcomm Stadium in a matchup of two lefthanders who agreed to minor league contracts on Wednesday.
Perez should have little trouble meeting low expectations.
Good luck Ollie! I hope he gets things sorted out and can pitch like he once did.
As bad as Ollie was in the last three years, I can’t say the Mariners are making a bad move. Minor League Deals are cheap, and won’t have any relevant impact on the team if Perez doesn’t break camp as a Mariner. This deal really has little to no risk. Worst case scenario, Perez plays the season in Triple A and gives the Mariners extra options, best case, he is a productive member of the M’s rotation. Just ask the Yankees how well Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia went last year. You never know with these type of deals.
Well said. I think the people saying “OMGZ OLLIE IZ TEH SUCKZ” fail to realize that he was on a Minor League contract last year, pitched respectably, but stayed in the Minors. Just because the Mets hosed themselves with his contract, doesn’t mean he should never play baseball for the rest of his life…
Exactly. Ollie didn’t force the Mets to pay him such a ridiculous contract. He just did what any of us would, he took the money.
what a waste,this kid had real talent.
most pathetic player ever
How so? In 2004 he had a 2.98 ERA with 11 SO/9. Regardless of how his career has gone since then, I’d struggle to call ANY player who can “the most pathetic player ever.”
most pathetic player ever
The guy is worse than a migraine on steroids.
I can’t fault the Mariners for looking at his numbers and taking a chance on him, but there is NO chance that he amounts to anything even remotely useful. If he does see big league action, God help him. Correction: God help Mariner’s fans.
Don’t mind the Mariners trading away some minor league pitching prospects like Chris Hultzen, James Paxton, and Erasmus Ramirez for some hitting since free agency may not work out for the M’s. There’s a future prospect in college baseball named Mark Appel, 6 foot 5 inches, throws 97 mph 4-seam fastball, 95 mph 2-seam fastball, and top notch velocity who can be ready to pitch w/ Felix Hernandez and pitching staff as he’s a future number 1 starter. I know baseball draft is not as big as basketball and football – this year is the way to go on replacing some pitching prospects via the draft.