Martin Perez Gets Qualifying Offer from Rangers
The Texas Rangers have extended the qualifying offer to free-agent pitcher Martín Pérez, a move that allows them to continue to negotiate with the left-hander but also provides them with draft-pick compensation should he sign elsewhere.
The Rangers did not announce the offer. It was reported by several outlets.
The qualifying offer for this offseason is $19.65 million.
Pérez now has until Tuesday at 3 p.m. CT to either accept or pass on the offer.
The Rangers have been working with Pérez to get a longer-term deal done since the end of the season, but earlier this week MLB Network reported that the two parties “aren’t close to agreeing on a multi-year deal.”
The only two pitching moves of note for the Rangers since the end of the season has been the acquisition of starter Jake Odorizzi and picking up the option for reliever Jose Leclerc.
Pérez, who broke in with the Rangers in 2012 and played for Texas for his first eight seasons, returned on a one-year, $4 million deal in 2022 and ended up becoming the Rangers ace. He went 12-8 with a 2.89 ERA, the latter among the best in the American League. He threw 196 1/3 innings, just two off his career high. He did have a career-high 169 strikeouts. He also made the All-Star team for the first time.
While he was consistent all season, his May was something to remember, as he earned both Rangers Player of the Month and American League Pitcher of the Month honors.
Pérez went 4-0 with an 0.64 ERA (three earned runs in 42 1/3 innings) in six starts in May, and the Rangers were 6-0 in those outings. It was the second-lowest ERA in club history for any month by a Texas pitcher with at least five starts (Yovani Gallardo, 0.54 in June 2015).
As part of that, in an eight-start stretch from April 23 to May 31, Pérez went undefeated with six or more innings in each outing while allowing no home runs and no more than one earned run in each start. According to STATS LLC, the only other pitchers to compile those statistics over an eight-start span since earned runs became an official statistic in 1913 are Hall of Famers Walter Johnson (1913-14) and Bob Gibson (1968).
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