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Martin Perez

Martin Perez Placed On 10-Day DL

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8:57pm: For the time being, Perez has been diagnosed only with inflation, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to tweet.

2:26pm: The Rangers announced Monday that left-hander Martin Perez has been placed on the 10-day disabled list due to “continued discomfort in his right elbow” and has left the team to travel back to Texas for a more in-depth exam with Dr. Keith Meister. Righty Jose Leclerc was recalled in his place.

While the loss of Perez for the time being thins out the rotation, the silver lining for the organization is likely that the issue is confined to Perez’s non-pitching elbow. That certainly doesn’t preclude an extended absence, particularly given that Perez underwent offseason surgery to repair a fracture in that right elbow and opened the year on the disabled list as a result.

It’s been a nightmarish start to the 2018 campaign for Perez; the 27-year-old lefty has been tattooed for a 9.67 ERA in 22 2/3 innings through five starts while posting a career-worst 4.8 BB/9 rate and watching his fastball velocity drop from 93.1 mph in 2017 to 91.8 mph in 2018. While the injury obviously isn’t in his throwing elbow — Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that Rangers officials say Perez’s left elbow is not a concern — it’s still possible that the discomfort in his right elbow is impacting his mechanics and effectiveness. (Whether it’s related or not, Perez’s release point in 2018 is notably out of line with his career norms, per Brooks Baseball.)

Perez becomes the latest in a long line of Rangers regulars to land on the disabled list, where he’ll join Adrian Beltre, Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus. (Right-hander Doug Fister also missed some time on the DL but was recently activated.) With Perez on the shelf, Texas will utilize Cole Hamels, Mike Minor, Matt Moore, Bartolo Colon and Fister in the starting rotation.

Rangers Notes: Free Agency, Pitching Health, Profar

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Though some have wondered whether the Rangers could make a late play for one of the remaining free agents, GM Jon Daniels said today that isn’t in the cards, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Texas could surely stand to add another pitcher, with both Alex Cobb and Greg Holland seeming to make sense to varying degrees, but Daniels made clear he does not anticipate any significant new acquisitions.

More from Texas:

  • Pitching health is always a big factor and will be of particular importance for a Rangers club that is in need of strong performances from all around the staff. Martin Perez is nearing his return to competitive pitching, which seems to bode well for his availability fairly early on in the upcoming campaign. But there are some other depth hits that are already apparent. Clayton Blackburn has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain. It seems he’s going to try to rest up and resume throwing, suggesting it’s not an extensive tear, though he won’t even attempt to begin ramping back up for another four to six weeks and could yet become a candidate for surgery. Meanwhile, veteran Jon Niese is dealing with a sub scapularis muscle strain that seems to pose some uncertainties to his future and Ronald Herrera will miss at least half the season owing to labrum inflammation.
  • There was one positive development on the pitching front, at least. Late-inning reliever Keone Kela was able to get back on the bump after a week-and-a-half layoff, as MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan writes. It seems as if there are still some kinks left to be ironed out, but that Kela could get back on track to be ready for Opening Day. That said, manager Jeff Banister noted that the organization will need to see how his balky shoulder responds to the outing over the next several days.
  • In one non-pitching note, Daniels also made clear that the plan is for Jurickson Profar to make the active roster and function as the team’s reserve infielder. It’s not difficult to imagine the former top prospect carving out a fairly significant role if he plays well, even if the presumptive regulars around the diamond are healthy and productive. After all, there’ll be a need to spread around some rest and the switch-hitting Profar could contribute in a number of different ways. It had seemed likely that Profar would be dealt at the outset of the offseason, but the out-of-options 25-year-old will get one more chance to stick in the majors in Texas.

Injury Notes: Perez, May, Pineda

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We have twice discussed infielder Eduardo Nunez today, as his free agent market kicks into action now that he’s on the mend from knee problems. Now we’ll check in on a few other injury situations from around the game:

  • Rangers lefty Martin Perez says he does not expect to miss any time stemming from the fractured right elbow he suffered in mid-December, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. At the time of Perez’s ill-fated encounter with one of the bulls on his ranch — yes, that story is covered in the link — it seemed he’d likely be sidelined for a decent stretch to open the year. But the 26-year-old, who was fortunate not to have injured his pitching arm, painted a different picture. “I am not going to miss any time,” said Perez. “I have conviction I will be ready the first day.” Whether or not that opinion will be shared by relevant medical personnel isn’t immediately clear, but his positive attitude seems to bode well regardless.
  • Twins righty Trevor May is on track to throw from a mound as soon as the end of the month, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press writes as one of several notes out of TwinsFest. May is currently throwing from 120 feet; he further explains his hopeful schedule for ramping back from from Tommy John surgery in this video clip. May, who has also written about his TJ recovery here at MLBTR, has agreed to a $650K contract for the coming season. The 28-year-old has had some ups and downs early in his career but certainly remains an interesting arm to watch for a Minnesota organization that is hoping to repeat its surprising 2017 postseason trip.
  • Of course, the Twins have a few other pitchers whose injury situations bear watching. Among them is Michael Pineda, who is also working back after receiving a fresh ulnar collateral ligament. Minnesota placed a $10MM bet on his ability to get back to the mound and provide value late this year and (mostly) in 2019. Pineda, Berardino writes, has just begun a throwing program. He says it “feels great” to be throwing again, though of course this is just one step in a laborious process. Pineda’s surgery took place in the middle of July of last year, so he’s well behind May in the process.

Martin Perez Undergoes Surgery For Break To Non-Throwing Elbow

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Rangers left-hander Martin Perez is set to miss approximately four months after undergoing surgery for a fracture to the radial head in his right arm, the club announced. He is said to have incurred the injury at his ranch in his home country of Venezuela.

Perez, 26, is expected to hold down a starting spot for the Rangers in 2018. Odds are, though, that he’ll miss a bit of time to open the season, perhaps increasing the organization’s need for rotation depth. Four months from today puts the potential return in mid-April, but perhaps it’s wise to build in a bit of extra padding to expectations.

Though Perez limped to a 4.82 ERA in 2017, he enjoyed a second consecutive healthy campaign and has thrown 383 2/3 innings since the start of 2016. Texas decided to pick up a $6MM option to retain him in hopes that he’d again fill up some frames and might also improve his results.

While there’s not much to love about Perez’s peripherals of late, he has long generated good rates of grounders and has been effective in the past when he suppresses home runs sufficiently. He also still delivers a 93 to 94 mph fastball, though his swinging-strike rates are stuck below eight percent.

[RELATED: Updated Rangers Depth Chart]

In any event, the Rangers now have more reason than ever to seek an additional rotation-capable arm. The team has already added Mike Minor, Matt Moore, and Doug Fister to a unit fronted by Cole Hamels, but the organization is short of established options beyond that.

Rangers Exercise Option On Perez, Decline Options On Barnette, Napoli

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The Rangers announced that they’ve exercised their $6MM club option on left-hander Martin Perez. The 2018 options of Tony Barnette ($4MM) and Mike Napoli ($11MM) have been declined. Barnette will receive a $250K buyout, while Napoli receives a $2.5MM buyout.

Beyond the option decisions, the Rangers announced that catcher A.J. Jimenez and right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx have cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Round Rock.

In coaching staff news for the Rangers, Texas also announced that it has hired former Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen as its new assistant pitching coach and hired former big league right-hander Colby Lewis as a special assistant to GM Jon Daniels.

The 26-year-old Perez hasn’t exactly made good on his once lofty prospect status, but he’s developed into a dependable back-of-the-rotation starter. Given the affordable nature of his option and the steep $2.35MM buyout that was associated with that option, it’d have been nothing short of shocking to see his option declined.

The 2017 season saw Perez log a team-high 185 innings with a 4.82 ERA, 5.6 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 47.3 percent ground-ball rate. Obviously, his run-prevention numbers weren’t anywhere near where Perez or the team would’ve hoped, but he’s made 65 starts across the past two seasons for a Rangers team that is in desperate need of innings. Andrew Cashner and Miguel Gonzalez are free agents, leaving Perez and Cole Hamels as the only true locks for the Texas rotation. Other options include Nick Martinez, A.J. Griffin and Yohander Mendez, but the Rangers very clearly need to add multiple arms to the rotation for the coming season.

Barnette, 34 later this week. made his Major League debut with the Rangers in 2016. A former Diamondbacks farmhand, Barnette never cracked the Majors early in his career and instead went overseas to find enormous success pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He earned a two-year Major League contract with the Rangers as a result of efforts in Japan and was every bit worth that investment in his first year with the club.

In 2016, Barnette pitched to a 2.09 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 2.4 BB/9 with a 46.3 percent ground-ball rate in 60 1/3 innings out of manager Jeff Bannister’s bullpen. However, his strand rate plummeted in 2017 as his BABIP rose, causing his ERA to spike to 5.49. Barnette’s strikeout rate actually improved in ’17, and metrics like FIP and xFIP didn’t feel he was all that much worse than he was in 2016. However, the disappointing bottom-line results and a need for more bullpen stability caused the Rangers to move on. Barnette’s strong 2016 season and promising uptick in punchouts could generate him some interest on big league deals with a low base salary this winter, but many teams will likely hope to bring him into camp on a minor league contract.

The 36-year-old Napoli swatted 29 homers in his return to Arlington this season but saw his batting average check in south of the Mendoza Line and his OBP land in the upper .200s. Overall, the benefit of his considerable power (.235 ISO) was counteracted by a .193/.285/.428 batting line and below-average baserunning. Both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference pegged him slightly worse than replacement level. Napoli struck out at a career-worst 33.6 percent clip and also popped up at a career-high 15.6 percent pace. A troublesome 38.1 percent of his trips to the plate resulted in a punchout or an infield fly. He’d already been informed that his option would be declined (as previously detailed on MLBTR), and he’ll now return to the open market in search of a new team for the 2018 campaign.

AL West Notes: Perez, Morton, Upton, Erasmo

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The Rangers have already told Martin Perez that they will exercise their $6MM option on the left-hander’s services, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports.  Teams have until five days after the World Series to decide on all contract options so nothing is official yet between Perez and the Rangers (we’ll have the news here on MLBTR when this move and other option decisions are finalized), though it was widely expected that Perez would be retained.  The Rangers would’ve had to pay $2.45MM in a buyout, so it was an easy call to spend the extra $3.55MM on Perez, who has delivered 3.8 fWAR and 377 2/3 innings over the last two seasons.  Texas also has club options on Perez for 2019 and 2020.

Here’s more from around the AL West…

  • Charlie Morton may call it a career after the 2018 season, the Astros right-hander told MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link).  Morton turns 35 in November 2018 and has battled several injuries throughout his career, though he is wrapping up one of the most successful of his ten seasons in the big leagues.  His unique enjoyment of his Astros experience, however, is actually one of the factors in Morton’s reasoning: “The group we have here is so good….The most valuable thing you have is time, and these are the guys I’m investing that in.  I can only think of a couple other groups I was with, where I look back and say ’That was really good.  That was worth it.’  It would be a search for that feeling, when you go in a clubhouse and like being with that group.  Here, you’re doing something meaningful — with everything that’s going on in the city….This is a moment to be cherished and valued.”
  • In other Morton-related news, he made his 25th start of the season tonight, which Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle notes triggered a $625K bonus in the Astros righty’s contract.  Morton also received $625K bonuses for hitting the 15-start and 20-start thresholds, so he’ll tack an extra $1.875MM onto his $7MM base salary for the 2017 season.  Morton also has the same base salary and bonus structure in place for 2018.
  • “Winning” is the only factor that will go into Justin Upton’s decision about opting out of his contract, he tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.  Of course, Upton faces a significant financial decision if he chooses to forego the $88.5MM remaining on his contract to re-enter free agency, though Fletcher notes that Upton could prioritize playing for a contender since he has already earned over $95MM in his career.  The Angels, of course, made a run at a wild card this year and could offer Upton that chance of playing for a winner, as the club will have some money to spend on needed upgrades this winter.
  • The Mariners “didn’t know quite what we were getting” when Erasmo Ramirez was re-acquired by the Rays, Seattle manager Scott Servais tells Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune, but the right-hander has now established himself as a potential rotation candidate for the 2018 squad.  After working for several years as a swingman, Ramirez became a full-time starter after his trade to the Mariners and the results were impressive — 3.92 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 3.60 K/BB over 62 innings (11 starts).  Ramirez’s emergence is a boost to a Seattle team that is looking for healthy and reliable starting pitching this winter.

Rangers Place Keone Kela On 10-Day DL

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The Rangers have placed righty Keone Kela on the 10-day DL, according to an announcement from VP of communications John Blake. He is said to be dealing with soreness in his pitching shoulder, though further indication of the seriousness of the injury is not yet known.

Kela, 24, opened the season in the minors as a disciplinary measure. But he has swiftly reestablished himself as a critical component of the late-inning relief corps. Through 30 2/3 innings on the year, he owns a 2.64 ERA with 12.3 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.

Indeed, Kela’s importance has only increased as the season has progressed. Sam Dyson was shipped out after opening the year as the closer, while Matt Bush has since struggled in that role. While the team’s near-term intentions weren’t yet clear, Kela seemed the odds-on favorite to seize the reins in the 9th.

Without Kela as an option for at least some stretch, the Rangers’ struggling pen will be stretched yet further. On the positive side, the team has activated starter Martin Perez. To create space for just-added reliever Jason Grilli, the club optioned southpaw Dario Alvarez.

Injury Notes: Alvarez, Nunez, Duffy, Smith, Freeman, Perez, Hatcher, Bailey

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Former All-Star righty Henderson Alvarez put on a showcase yesterday, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). There’s no word yet on how it went, though it’s certainly promising that he was able to take the mound at all. Alvarez, who only just turned 27, is said to be to full health. He last appeared in the majors early in the 2015 season, before a string of shoulder problems intervened. About half of the MLB clubs were represented at the showcase, per Heyman; it’s not surprising to hear of the interest given Alvarez’s young age and track record of success — including a sterling 2014 campaign in which he placed 12th in the NL Cy Young voting.

Here’s more on some injury situations from around the game:

  • Giants infielder Eduardo Nunez is heading to the 10-day DL with a hamstring injury, as Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. That placement opens space for Conor Gillaspie to return from his own stint on the disabled list. It doesn’t seem to be a major injury, as the club has given Nunez time to try to work through the issue, but clearly the hope will be that he can return sooner than later. Nunez seems like the most obvious trade piece on the San Francisco roster, and he’ll need to be in top form at the deadline to maximize his return.
  • Rays skipper Kevin Cash says that infielder Matt Duffy had a procedure to “remove a pea-sized calcium deposit” from his problematic left heel, as Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports (Twitter links). The hope is that doctors have identified the cause of Duffy’s ongoing pain, which has lingered much longer than anticipated. Cash says he expects Duffy to return to action this summer, which could represent a nice boost.
  • There’s still no clarity on the status of Red Sox righty Carson Smith, who has been working back from Tommy John surgery. But president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager John Farrell weren’t exactly brimming with confidence yesterday, as Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. It has now been ten days since Smith last threw, and he’ll be evaluated by medical personnel before picking up a baseball again. At this point, there’s no clear timetable for Smith to make it back to the majors, though Farrell says the organization has “not closed the book in a sense on anything Carson can contribute this year.”
  • While his potential shift to third base has drawn all the headlines, it’s also notable that Braves slugger Freddie Freeman has made major strides in the healing process for his broken wrist. As David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter links), Freeman says that doctors have seen dramatic improvement over the last week. While he says he can still feel some pain in the surgically repaired joint, he stressed that “it’s pain, it’s not hurt” at this stage.
  • Rangers lefty Martin Perez is headed to the 10-day DL with a fractured right thumb, per a club announcement. Fortunately, that’s his non-pitching hand, so it seems likely he won’t require an extended absence. (Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News has the story on the injury, which was caused by a rogue hotel door.) Texas will also welcome back southpaw Cole Hamels, who is slated to take the MLB mound on Monday.
  • The Dodgers announced yesterday that righty Chris Hatcher will head to the 10-day DL with thoracic inflammation. The 32-year-old has struggled to a 4.66 ERA, with seven home runs clouding his stat sheet though he also carries a strong 10.6 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9. He has been replaced on the active roster by fellow right-hander Ross Stripling.
  • And finally, the Reds have officially activated righty Homer Bailey. That move was expected at this point, but it’s still plenty notable. The high-priced righty has made just eight MLB starts since the beginning of the 2015 season, and will be trying to reestablish himself as a healthy and productive big leaguer. Young outfielder Jesse Winker was optioned to create roster space.

Texas Notes: Cashner, Ross, Corporan, Luhnow, Andrus

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The Astros and Padres have discussed starting pitching, reports Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. It’s believed that Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross were the subjects of the talks. Lin characterizes the conversations as “preliminary.” He believes the Astros are performing due diligence in case their pursuit of Johnny Cueto goes awry. The Rangers are also known to have interest in both pitchers. Cashner is a free agent after the 2016 season while Ross is club-controlled through 2017.

  • The Rangers have placed catcher Carlos Corporan on the disabled list and recalled Tomas Telis, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Corporan is sidelined with a sprained left thumb. The news comes just a couple days after we learned the Rangers were open to trading Corporan to clear space for Telis. The 24-year-old prospect saw 71 plate appearances last season and has hit relatively well in the minors. This year, he’s managed a .291/.327/.404 line at Triple-A.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is remaining open-minded heading into the trade deadline, he tells Brian McTaggart of MLB.com in an interview. Specifically, he’s looking for a piece that can help the team reach the postseason and succeed in October. Beyond that, he mentioned the rotation, lineup, and bullpen as areas that can be improved. Luhnow also suggested that some talks could drag into August. The interview does make one thing clear – the Astros would like to buy, but they’ll keep an eye on the long term implications as they do it.
  • A change of scenery could be in order for Elvis Andrus, opines Frank Cesare of GammonsDaily.com. The 26-year-old has declined to replacement level production since signing an eight-year, $120MM contract that expires after the 2022 season. Andrus was once known for above average defense, speed, contact ability, and plate discipline. He’s hitting a career worst .245/.303/.328 even though his peripherals are comparable to his career rates. His defense has dropped below average over the last season and a half. Undoubtedly, the Rangers would be happy to escape his contract, but there is a dearth of obvious suitors? A change of scenery may be ideal, but unless Texas ate a large portion of his contract, a trade is exceedingly unlikely.
  • With the Rangers seven games back in the AL West and five games below .500, the club needs Martin Perez to perform immediately, writes Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. Perez returned from Tommy John surgery this past Friday with a five inning outing. Aside from Yovani Gallardo, the club has received little value from their starters. The team’s starters have combined for a 4.14 ERA – 12th worst in the league. Martin has a career 4.16 ERA and 4.07 FIP.

AL West Notes: Astros, Cueto, A’s, Perez, Young

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Though they’ve fallen back to the pack somewhat in recent weeks, the Astros have serious interest in Reds starter Johnny Cueto, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Cueto sat atop Houston’s list of targets at the end of June, per Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, and Heyman says that still appears to be the case. Needless to say, the veteran righty would provide a huge boost to an Astros team that has received underwhelming results from the back of its rotation, effectively slotting another top-of-the-rotation arm (alongside Dallas Keuchel) into a slot that has been occupied by a revolving door of starters. Houston will obviously face plenty of competition in their pursuit, assuming that Cincinnati puts its ace on the market.

Here’s more from the AL West:

  • The Athletics remain one of the most interesting teams to watch heading into the season’s second half, as they possess several obvious trade pieces but are still not fully buried in the AL West. John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group breaks down the factors weighing in club’s decisionmaking process, noting that GM Billy Beane remains optimistic of his current roster’s quality. A rival American League GM tells Hickey that he doesn’t believe Oakland to be too far back to make a run, and Hickey ultimately concludes that “it seems unlikely to see a mass selloff” as things stand.
  • After welcoming back starter Matt Harrison from a lengthy absence, the Rangers are set to activate fellow left-handed rotation piece Martin Perez on Friday, the club announced. Perez underwent Tommy John surgery last May, at the same point in time that Harrison went down. Now 24, Perez agreed to a four-year, $12.5MM deal with three club options (2018-2020) back in November of 2013. At the time, he was fresh off of a 124 1/3 inning, 3.62 ERA showing in his age-22 season. He has plenty of time to regain his former promise and provide value to the Rangers under that contract.
  • While Rangers GM Jon Daniels said recently that he hopes to add a “complementary right-handed bat,” it remains unclear precisely what players the team could target. MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted in the just-linked piece that now-free agent Delmon Young could make some sense, particularly given that he could likely be had for a relatively meager commitment. Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets that Texas has not yet reached out to Young’s representatives, though of course the 29-year-old has only been on the market for a few days.
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