Martin Perez Appears Headed Back To Texas Rangers Rotation: 'I'm A Starter'
It’s clear that Texas Rangers pitcher Martín Pérez knows who he is.
“I’m not a reliever,” he said. “They know that. I’m a starter.”
Pérez may be back in his preferred role soon. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged Wednesday that the veteran left-hander could move back in the rotation with the playoff push on, perhaps as soon as this weekend’s huge series with the Seattle Mariners.
“It’s something we are talking about,” Bochy said of elevating Pérez back to the rotation.
Pérez certainly strengthened his case in the 15-5 win over the Boston Red Sox, relieving an ineffective Jon Gray with 4 2/3 shutout innings as the Rangers rebounded from an early 4-0 deficit. It was the longest scoreless outing for Pérez since a six-inning start Aug. 24 and the second-longest relief appearance of his career.
In his last five games over 11 innings, Pérez hasn’t allowed a run and has 10 strikeouts against two walks, along with a .189 opponents’ batting average.
Pérez has been getting the job done.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s from the bullpen or I start again,” he said. “I just want to get people out and help my team win.”
Bochy hasn’t set the pitching rotation for Seattle beyond Dane Dunning starting the series opener Friday night at Globe Life Field. That leaves open a possible spot for Pérez before the season is done.
“I think that’s fair to say, yes,” Bochy said. “The way he threw – that’s why we wanted him stretched out to give us that option. He hasn’t been stretched out like this for a while.”
The rotation has a void with the loss of Max Scherzer to injury. The Rangers have options behind Dunning with Thursday being off. Jordan Montgomery could start Saturday on normal rest leaving Sunday open for possibly Nathan Eovaldi or Pérez. A Sunday start for Pérez would be on only three days rest after throwing nearly five innings on Wednesday.
In any case, Pérez could be back in rotation before the season ends.
“We want to keep that option available,” Bochy said.
Pérez didn’t enjoy the demotion to the bullpen but made the most of it by working on his mechanics and fine-tuning his command.
Bochy praised his attitude, as well as his performance working in relief. Pérez is ready should his starting number get called again.
“I’m not trying to be the bad apple,” he said. “No matter what decision they make, I just want to be a better teammate. That’s why I have all the support from my teammates.”
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