Baltimore Orioles Avoid Arbitration by Coming to Terms with Valuable Reliever

The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a one-year deal with valuable reliever Cionel Perez, thus avoiding an arbitration hearing.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Perez signed a one-year contract contract with the Orioles on Monday to avoid arbitration.

ANALYSIS
The deal also contains a club option for 2025. The financial particulars aren't clear, but Perez had been seeking $1.4 million for 2024, with the team offering $1.1 million. Perez has collected a 2.43 ERA and 99:48 K:BB over 111 innings in his two seasons in Baltimore.

The 27-year-old native of Cuba is a valuable member of an O's 'pen that also features Yennier Cano and (when healthy) Felix Bautista. This year, they've added Craig Kimbrel down there to take the place of Bautista, who will miss all (or most) of the year while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Perez went 4-2 with a 3.54 ERA last season for Baltimore, appearing in 65 games while saving three. He struck out 44 batters in 53.1 innings. In addition to two years in Baltimore, he spent parts of three seasons with the Houston Astros and part of one with the Cincinnati Reds.

The O's figure to be one of the best teams in baseball in 2024, armed with some of the best young talent in all of baseball. Baltimore won the American League East last season and secured 101 wins in the process, but they fell to the eventual World Champion Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series.

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