Former Braves Pitcher Elects Free Agency After Stint with A's

There's a new big lefty on the market

Apr 2, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics pitcher Angel Perdomo (52) is removed from the game during the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Athletics are looking to build up their pitching depth this winter with the hope of competing for a spot in the postseason during the 2026 campaign. They'll now be without a lefty option that they'd picked up in 2025.

Just days into the 2025 season, the A's claimed left-handed pitcher Angel Perdomo off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, and gave him a look in the big-leagues immediately. The A's had entered the season with just one lefty in the bullpen, and Perdomo gave them a second with potential upside.

After a couple weeks of struggles, he was DFA'd by the club, but ended up sticking with Triple-A Las Vegas through June 3, when he suffered an injury that landed him on the IL for the remainder of the 2025 campaign.

This week he decided to elect free agency.

In his couple of weeks in the big leagues at the beginning of the year, Perdomo ended up getting into four games spanning 3 1/3 innings of work and held a 5.40 ERA. He gave up two hits, two earned runs, hit a batter, walked three and struck out a pair. Even with a .167 batting average against, he held a 1.50 WHIP in the small sample size.

Apr 9, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics pitcher Angel Perdomo (52) during the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The last time he'd pitched in the big leagues was in 2023 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he'd tallied 29 inning of work out of the Buccos bullpen, holding a 3.72 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP. He had Tommy John surgery on October 6 of that year, and ended up missing the entire 2024 campaign.

His rehab process was done with the Atlanta Braves, and after decent results in camp, the Braves decided to trade him to the Angels, only for Los Angeles to designate him for assignment less than a week later, which is how he ended up with the A's.

The one big drawback for Perdomo in his brief stint with the Athletics is that his velocity was down from 2023. He was sitting at 92.6 miles per hour with his four-seamer, down a tick and a half from the 94 it had been at with the Pirates pre-surgery.

Aug 18, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Angel Perdomo (68) pitches to the Minnesota Twins in the bottom of the seventh inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

In his second-to-last outing with the Aviators on May 31, Perdomo topped out at 95.4 miles per hour, but also hit as low as 90.9 mph. He was sitting 92.5, so right about where he'd been with the A's in West Sacramento.

While there was apparently another injury involved in June (minor league injuries are kept pretty quiet), missing the second half of the season was beneficial for left Sean Newcomb last year, as it gave his body—more specifically his knees—some time to recover for the following season. He went on to have one of the best years of his career.

The hope for Perdomo is that he'll be able to feel good entering 2026 and land a minor-league deal somewhere. He's shown that he has the tools to be an effective big league bullpen piece, but first he'll need to recover some of that lost velocity.