Recently Released Braves Lefty Could Be Sneaky Fit For A's
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The A's bullpen has been on a roll of late, holding one of the best groups in the game since they made a couple of adjustments last week in New York. Since the addition of veteran Joel Kuhnel, the A's have held a 1.88 ERA across 24 innings of work, and the team has gone 6-1.
While the old saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," that doesn't always apply in baseball. Baseball GMs have to be ready to pounce when a marginal upgrade to the team's depth pops up on the waiver wire or in free agency. Well, there is a veteran on the market weighing his options right now, and the A's pitch may be pretty decent.
Yesterday, veteran left-hander Martín Pérez elected free agency after the Atlanta Braves designated him for assignment, and then outrighted him to Triple-A. It's still possible that Atlanta could bring him back on a minor-league deal, but he wouldn't be on the 40-man roster in that case.
The A's pitch
The A's pitch is pretty simple. Yes, they're playing in a minor-league facility this season, but they could also offer him a spot in the big leagues, as a member of their bullpen. At 9-8, the A's are also a team in contention, and their plans are to keep it that way throughout 2026. Pérez could be a big part of that process, if he elected to sign with the club.
This season the 35-year-old southpaw appeared in three games (two starts) for Atlanta, posting a 3.14 ERA (4.10 FIP) with an 11.3% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate. The strikeout rate is incredibly low, but given that he averages 90 miles per hour on the heater, he's more of a contact pitcher these days. Heck, he's always been a contact guy.
That's why his 2.3% barrel rate (84th percentile), 30.2% hard-hit rate (80th percentile) and 33.9% chase rate (78th percentile) stand out. He has been effective this season as a member of the Atlanta rotation, and could be a solid situational lefty for the A's in relief.
Pérez has largely been a starting pitcher in his career, with 281 of his 328 career games being as a starter. Yet, if he's open to relief, he could have a role with the A's.
Why relief?
The A's only have one left-hander in the bullpen right now in Hogan Harris, and while he has been doing an exceptional job, there will come a point in time when the A's need a second lefty in the mix. With Luis Medina working his way into a bigger role in the bullpen, the green and gold could also be open to another person in long relief.
Harris, 29, has gotten off to a hot start, posting a 2.53 ERA across 10 2/3 innings thus far, and has been in the mix for late-inning relief when the situation calls for it. That said, he's also made it into 10 of the A's 17 games already this season, and that frequency is likely not sustainable for an entire season.
That's where a second left-hander would come into play. Last year the A's brought in Sean Newcomb, and he was the club's best relief pitcher over the final two months of 2025.
With the A's looking to contend this season, they're going to need a second effective left-hander down in the bullpen at some point this season, and Martín Pérez just became available. Adding him would allow manager Mark Kotsay to deploy Harris in more high-leverage situations, and also get him an extra day of rest here or there.
The hope here would be that Harris would be able to remain fresh for the entirety of the season, and into October—if needed.
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Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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