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The Twins and left-hander Martin Perez are in agreement on a one-year contract with a club option for a second year, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
#MNTwins in agreement with LHP Martin Pérez on one-year contract, source tells The Athletic. Deal includes club option for second season.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 19, 2019
Financial figures for the deal were not included in Rosenthal’s tweet, but Perez is getting a big-league contract despite having an dismal 2018 campaign. The 27-year-old Venezuelan posted a 6.22 ERA in 85 1⁄3 innings pitched in his seventh and final season with the Rangers. Perez has not had a good career to date, going 43-49 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP in 761 1⁄3 innings across 141 appearances, including 128 starts. His best season was his rookie year in 2013, when he went 10-6 with a 3.62 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 124 1⁄3 innings pitched over 20 starts.
Perez will look to compete for a starting spot on the Twins’ staff, which includes Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson and currently a combination of Stephen Gonsalves, Adalberto Mejia, Kohl Stewart and Zack Littell. Last year, the Twins ranked in the bottom third of the majors in ERA, quality starts and batting average against. Their struggles as a staff contributed to them failing to make the postseason for the second straight season.