Texas Rangers Most Tenured Player Martin Perez Leaving After Signing Free-Agent Deal
The most tenured Texas Rangers player is leaving again.
Left-hander Martín Pérez has signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to multiple reports, including MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
Perez, who came up through the Rangers organizations and debuted in the Majors in 2012, spent nine seasons with the club, including the past two.
Perez, who turns 33 in April, was pushed out of the starting rotation in July and was used out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season and postseason.
Perez spent 2020 and 2021 with the Boston Red Sox.
In his nine seasons with the Rangers, Perez was 65-61 with a 4.30 ERA. He earned an All-Star nod in 2022, his best season in the majors in which he went 12-8 with a 2.89 ERA in 32 starts on a sub-.500 team.
He was 10-4 in 2023, but struggled in mid-July before being relegated to the bullpen.
After starting 6-1 with a 3.97 ERA in his first 12 starts, Perez went 2-3 in his next eight with an ERA of 6.69 ERA.
He allowed 10 home runs in his first 68 innings and eight homers in his next 40 1/3 innings.
When asked over the past couple of weeks about Perez's future with the club, Rangers general manager Chris Young declined to speak specifically about any of the Rangers free agents. Young would only say that the club was actively engaged in talks with each of the current free agents from the 2023 roster.
Perez was unlikely to have a spot in the Rangers' Opening Day rotation, but would have been a more than viable option for the club's pitching depth needs.
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