Minnesota Twins sign Rafael Perez

The Minnesota Twins have signed left-hander Rafael Perez to a minor league contract, according to LaVelle E. Neal IIIof The Star Tribune.

Perez is set to join the Twins' major league camp on Saturday, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Bollinger adds that he heard from assistant general manager Rob Anthony that the team plans to stretch out Perez to see if he can start.

Prior to his agreement with the Twins, Perez had spent his entire seven-year in the majors with the Cleveland Indians. He was limited to eight appearances last season by a shoulder injury that ultimately required surgery in September. The Indians designated the left-hander for assignment in November and non-tendered him soon after.

Despite undergoing surgery in September, Perez is expected to be healthy by the start of the regular season. The 30-year-old has spent his entire major league career as a reliever. He maintained an ERA of 3.00 with a 1.74 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 71 appearances in 2011 and owns a career ERA of 3.64.

While Perez has been used strictly out of the bullpen in the bigs, he was primarily a starter in the minors. In parts of seven seasons on the Indians' farm, he posted an ERA of 3.10 over 120 appearances, including 77 starts.