The Braves have announced that they’ve released starting pitcher Williams Perez. The move clears a spot on their 40-man roster for the Rule 5 Draft, which is about to start.
The 25-year-old Perez has made 31 starts for the Braves over the past two seasons but has mostly struggled, with a 5.18 ERA, 5.3 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 over 170 1/3 innings. Last season, he pitched 53 2/3 innings in the big leagues and posted a 6.04 ERA, also fighting through shoulder and elbow troubles. The Braves now have ample starting pitching depth of the type Perez provides and therefore could afford to lose him.
Gosh. You sure feel like this guy could have been a decent enough trade piece (nothing big, something). He’s gonna be a steal of a pickup for any team looking #4 or 5 starter or bullpen help. He much better than his numbers show.
Is he better than his numbers show? His career FIP isn’t much better than his ERA, and he doesn’t strike anyone out, so I don’t have a lot of faith in him learning to miss bats.
No, he’s terrible.
I’m sure they tried, but other teams didn’t want to put him on their 40 either.
Fun fact. Numbers equal results.
His struggles will pan out and he will be a solid pitcher. You can watch this guy and see his numbers do not reflect his abilities.
Not surprising as I don’t think Perez really fit into the plans for 2017 unless a ton of things went wrong at the big league level. I wouldn’t be surprised though if he ends up on the Padres.
problem is perez and that other pitcher the braves got from the yankees couldnt go more than 5 innings. Seems like a rebuilding team like the reds, brewers or yankees could pick him up.
Yea he had shown glimpses of being ok but injuries and some bad performances really hurt him. Best of luck
Bullpen arm we got from Cubs has more upside than Perez did in 2017. Depth move.
Tribe should sign Perez to replace Manship in the pen’. Perez is 7 years younger, & gives them SP protection. They need that cause Cody Anderson is recovering from surgery.
I don’t think you really want Williams Perez…
Does Bartolo Colon take up two rosters slots?
No
Only on the team bus
I laughed….
A bit surprised by his outright release, but otherwise this wasn’t unexpected. Many Braves fans were suspecting that he would be one of the first to be removed from the 40-man. At this point, he might make a decent depth piece for another team in AAA, maybe serving as a middle reliever or #5 starter in the majors if he regains form, so he’s worth teams taking a flyer on with a minor league contract.
Perez could be a decent, league average long relief for somebody, but frankly I was shocked that he lasted on the 40 men roster for as long as he did this offseason.
When williams perez was on top of his game he had nice sinking action on his fastball. He would hit streak where it flattened out more like a two seamer and that usually got hit. I hoped he would get better control of his sinking fastball and move into a role much like peter moylan had in his tenure with the braves. A reliever capable of coming in and getting a double play and bailing out a starter. I think there is still hope of that happening. If he can get a handle on his control there may still be a role for him as a starter though at this time as others have suggested a swingman and long reliever role might be the best he can hope for.