Article: Twins Sign Left-Handed Pitcher Martin Perez

[Mr. Brooks]

I'm certainly in the vast minority, but I actually think this has a chance to be a sneaky good move.

I'm guessing the FO sees something, be it mechanical or pitch selection, that they think their guys can get turned around.

[jorgenswest]

In projecting Perez I think the 2016-2017 should carry significant weight. Last year started with injury and never went well.The 2016-17 version with the slightly below league average FIP (FIP- 102 both years) is a number 4 starter and a good value at the contract.

 

I just don’t care about getting good value though. With their payroll space I want them to take a big risk on an elite player.

[birddog]

So once again the Twins spend more to improve already perfect Target Field than they do to improve the product that plays there?! This front office is reminding me more of Calvin Griffith than of Terry Ryan. It's too bad that beautiful stadium will once again be only one third full. 

[Twodogs]

Hector Santiago??

[Twodogs]

I mean the thing to me is they probably could have got him with a minor league deal and a spring training invite?? Doesn't really seem like anyone was pounding on his door?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Not counting incentives, the Twins signed Blake Parker and Martin Perez for $5 million.

 

Cody Allen signed for $8.5 million.

 

Would people rather have Parker and Perez and $3.5 million salary in the Twins pocket, or spend another $3.5 million (and slightly more to top the Angels offer) and sign Cody Allen and then have that extra roster spot?

[bird]

 

I think I heard that the front office has hired a whole swarm of analytical people. It seems to me that maybe one of them might know more than we do about what Perez is capable of. I for one am excited to see what they can do with him.

 

 

If this is the line of reasoning behind this decision, I'm going to be more concerned about the new culture that's forming than I already am.

 

If they are so confident that their analysis has turned up something others have missed, and if they're so confident that their coaching can fix something that others have failed to fix?. Oh my.

 

For $3.5M and another lost asset via DFA, they better bat 1.000. Being full of hubris and making cute moves like this is entirely unattractive otherwise, especially when you've passed on obvious opportunities to improve and still have a critical gap at the back of the pen.

 

This move has rattled me. If we don't hear explicit rationale for it AND see the stunning success envisioned, I might really start to distrust this FO's capacity on the development front.

 

Perplexing is an understatement.

Edited January 20, 2019 by birdwatcher

[Regular Sized Rudy]

This is a lot of outrage for such a low-risk move. As mentioned before by several people, I assume the FO has identified something in Perez and think they can get better performance out of him than he's shown in the past. He seems like one of these classic "introduce a cutter and he's good" pitchers a la Anibal Sanchez and Wade Miley. And if he doesn't work out, we still have several 5th starter depth options that will be ready to step in if we move him to the bullpen or cut him. Guys like Gonsalves, Stewart, Romero, Littell, etc. will not be hurt by spending additional time in AAA. Likewise with Mejia and the bullpen. And last but not least, this measly $3.5 million contract in no way prevents the Twins from chasing some of the big free agency fish still left.

[Han Joelo]

 

https://www.si.com/mlb/2018/03/19/rangers-martin-perez-injury-hit-bull-win-steak

 

this makes me more excited! 

It sounds best when you say it with a Latin infused accent, ala the character from Princess Bride:

 

"I keeled him.  Then, I ate him.  The ribeye (roll your r) was deelicious."  Cold blooded rally snuffing groundout machine.  A Colblorsnagram.

 

Some Twins employee must have a dossier on this guy ten inches thick.  While it might be a former blogger-come analytics intern, I suspect it just might be Thad Levine.  I'm going to choose to believe they have identified their Kluber/Kuechel, and in addition to a few minor mechanical tweaks, they broke his arm and rebuilt it with bionics, using the bull story, as, well--a bull story.

 

Unfortunately, apparently they broke the wrong arm.  go twins.

[TheLeviathan]

Would've rather beat Cincy's offer for Gray.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

This is a lot of outrage for such a low-risk move. As mentioned before by several people, I assume the FO has identified something in Perez and think they can get better performance out of him than he's shown in the past. He seems like one of these classic "introduce a cutter and he's good" pitchers a la Anibal Sanchez and Wade Miley. And if he doesn't work out, we still have several 5th starter depth options that will be ready to step in if we move him to the bullpen or cut him. Guys like Gonsalves, Stewart, Romero, Littell, etc. will not be hurt by spending additional time in AAA. Likewise with Mejia and the bullpen. And last but not least, this measly $3.5 million contract in no way prevents the Twins from chasing some of the big free agency fish still left.

Who's left? Kimbrel? Like I said, Cody Allen signed not too long ago for not much more than we signed this guy.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 

I’ll be the lone wolf on this one. I don’t like Martin Perez as we know him, but he is dang near a Kyle Gibson clone. A once top prospect with a boatload of pitches, good velocity but a deluded reliance on his sinker which likely caused his uneven career results.

If someone can talk sense into him and point at Gibson as the reason to be smarter about his pitches, maybe he can finally realize his potential.

Zero leash though, if he still stubbornly uses his sinker in spring training like he always has I don’t want him in the rotation to start the year.

Nick, Someone has hacked your account and posted the above about the 3.5 million dollar Perez deal. Contact your IT guy immediately.

[Regular Sized Rudy]

 

Who's left? Kimbrel? Like I said, Cody Allen signed not too long ago for not much more than we signed this guy.

Cody Allen signed for over double what we paid for Perez. In terms of big fish pitchers remaining in FA, this move doesn't handicap our ability to sign Kimbrel or Keuchel, if we so choose to go after those guys. This move also doesn't prohibit us for trading for a big money reliever if they choose to go that route.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 

I know it. My detest of sinkerball pitchers may be unmatched here. I absolutely loathe the pitch but it seems to have a cult-like grip on pitchers who swear by it.

But, then I have to acknowledge that they have a greater chance of improvement if they finally stop drinking the Kool-aid and realize that it’s not a good idea to intentionally put the ball in play.

I agree that Perez has nowhere to go but up.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Cody Allen signed for over double what we paid for Perez. In terms of big fish pitchers remaining in FA, this move doesn't handicap our ability to sign Kimbrel or Keuchel, if we so choose to go after those guys. This move also doesn't prohibit us for trading for a big money reliever if they choose to go that route.

The Twins could have signed Cody Allen for just a few million more than they spent signing Martin Perez and Blake Parker. Allen has a long history of getting high leverage outs.

[Regular Sized Rudy]

 

The Twins could have signed Cody Allen for just a few million more than they spent signing Martin Perez and Blake Parker. Allen has a long history of getting high leverage outs.

Fair point, yes. And they could always have signed Allen AND Perez.

[Vanimal46]

This is a lot of outrage for such a low-risk move. As mentioned before by several people, I assume the FO has identified something in Perez and think they can get better performance out of him than he's shown in the past. He seems like one of these classic "introduce a cutter and he's good" pitchers a la Anibal Sanchez and Wade Miley. And if he doesn't work out, we still have several 5th starter depth options that will be ready to step in if we move him to the bullpen or cut him. Guys like Gonsalves, Stewart, Romero, Littell, etc. will not be hurt by spending additional time in AAA. Likewise with Mejia and the bullpen. And last but not least, this measly $3.5 million contract in no way prevents the Twins from chasing some of the big free agency fish still left.

I read the same push back when they announced Cron, Schoop, and Parker signed contracts with the Twins. When you add it all up, the team is losing roster flexibility with each move. This is another player out of options on a MLB deal. Someone with options on the 40 man is going to lose their spot because of this move. Every move has a ripple effect.

[Parker Hageman]

Taking a look at Perez's pitch usages over his career, it doesn't appear anybody with the Rangers ever really pressed him to tinker around. The biggest difference you see is that he threw his sinker more last year.

 

Just looking at that, I wonder what things might look like if Perez threw fewer fastballs and increased the usage of his changeup and slider. Just a thought.

 

 

The reason he threw his sinker so much last year was because all of his secondary pitches were obliterated. 

 

https://twitter.com/ParkerHageman/status/1086769996557103105

 

The biggest difference between comparing him to the Anibal Sanchez signing is that Sanchez came equipped with a plus-pitch (his changeup) whereas Perez does not have anything of that quality to build off of. As you can see above, he got hammered in pitchers counts and he typically went with his fastball/sinker in those situations (63%) which is typically a distribution reserved for guys with plus velocity. It seemed that Perez lost confidence in any other pitch. 

 

The changeup and sinker pair well off each other but they both are thrown in the same zone -- down/away. This means hitters can put a fastball swing on a pitch in that zone, trying to catch it deep, and also be on time for a changeup. 

 

When you look at the batted ball numbers, right-handed hitters had a very high percentage of hits to right field and center because of this. (For lefties, the effect was reversed with a high percentage of their hits going to the pull side.)

 

 

His 4-seam fastball he would occasionally use to go in as well as the occasional slider but, for the most part, righties could sit on location and spit on things on the inner-half. After all, he rarely threw his slider in the zone so there was little reason to chase and hitters did not fish often.

 

 

But, in theory, the slider would pair better with a 2-seamer. Being able to throw it in the zone more frequently against right-handers would give him another weapon to keep them honest. He could also potentially add a cutter as another glove-side pitch. 

 

I'm confident we're going to see some tweaks this spring. I don't know if it will make him significantly better simply because doesn't have that plus-pitch foundation, but it could push the needle in the right direction.   

 

 

 

[Regular Sized Rudy]

 

I read the same push back when they announced Cron, Schoop, and Parker signed contracts with the Twins. When you add it all up, the team is losing roster flexibility with each move. This is another player out of options on a MLB deal. Someone with options on the 40 man is going to lose their spot because of this move. Every move has a ripple effect.

I would argue that they gain roster flexibility with this move in that they gain another guy to decide from for the 5th spot. Sure he has a leg up on the competition right now, but $3.5 million is such a small amount of money that the Twins would probably fine cutting bait with him around June if he isn't performing. When you say that someone with options on the 40 man is going to lose their spot, that's only for the beginning of the year. Injuries and bad performance are going to happen, possibly even in Spring Training, and the guys on the 40 man with options will end up getting their chances.

 

The Cron, Schoop, and Parker moves aren't losing the team roster flexibility either. We currently don't have minor league guys that are ready to step into those spots anyways.

[Rosterman]

Interesting signing. We have Berrios and Gibson in the toration. Odorizzi needs to pitch more than 5 innings. Pineda is coming off an i jury season. Mejia is out of options but can he go more than 5 innings. Everyone else CAN start at Rochester and make for a nice reserve.

 

If nothing else, Perez and Mejia can battle for a relief role, the winner making the rotation.

 

The bigger question: who is cut?

[Otto von Ballpark]

When you say that someone with options on the 40 man is going to lose their spot, that's only for the beginning of the year. Injuries and bad performance are going to happen, possibly even in Spring Training, and the guys on the 40 man with options will end up getting their chances.

Pretty sure he means someone has to get cut from the 40-man to make room for Perez. They will presumably be out of the organization, like Curtiss, so they won't be around to get another chance.

[Vanimal46]

I would argue that they gain roster flexibility with this move in that they gain another guy to decide from for the 5th spot. Sure he has a leg up on the competition right now, but $3.5 million is such a small amount of money that the Twins would probably fine cutting bait with him around June if he isn't performing. When you say that someone with options on the 40 man is going to lose their spot, that's only for the beginning of the year. Injuries and bad performance are going to happen, possibly even in Spring Training, and the guys on the 40 man with options will end up getting their chances.

 

The Cron, Schoop, and Parker moves aren't losing the team roster flexibility either. We currently don't have minor league guys that are ready to step into those spots anyways.

Cron is out of minor league options. Parker is out of minor league options. Schoop is out of options. I'm assuming Perez is too. Instead of having players with options and creating flexibility that way, these guys are going to make the 25 man roster because of their situation.

 

How quickly are they going to cut bait on $3.5 million, or $1.8, or $5 million, or $7 million if the players don't bounce back?

[Regular Sized Rudy]

 

Pretty sure he means someone has to get cut from the 40-man to make room for Perez. They will presumably be out of the organization, like Curtiss, so they won't be around to get another chance.

Ahh okay I misread that. Well I'm sure everybody has differing opinions on the guys at the end of the 40-man, but I have no problem with them replacing a guy like Duffey or Granite with Perez.

[KirbyDome89]

Honestly, I'd rather watch this team burn through the pile of back end pitchers they have and then scour the waiver wire, than witness Perez be given every opportunity to fail. That feels like a copy/paste of a comment from a 2014 thread....

 

Are we at all confident this FO will move on quickly from one of their own signings, or that they'll give the other arms Perez just jumped a legitimate audition? I'm not.....

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by KirbyDome89

[Regular Sized Rudy]

 

Cron is out of minor league options. Parker is out of minor league options. Schoop is out of options. I'm assuming Perez is too. Instead of having players with options and creating flexibility that way, these guys are going to make the 25 man roster because of their situation.

How quickly are they going to cut bait on $3.5 million, or $1.8, or $5 million, or $7 million if the players don't bounce back?

But Cron, Parker, and Schoop would be making the major league roster even if they had options because they are better and more major-league ready than the minor league guys we have waiting in the wings.

[Vanimal46]

Ahh okay I misread that. Well I'm sure everybody has differing opinions on the guys at the end of the 40-man, but I have no problem with them replacing a guy like Duffey or Granite with Perez.

Perez may be taking one Duffey or Granite's spot on the 40, but he's also taking Moya, Vasquez, Romero, or Hildenberger's spot on the 25 man roster. Still good with that?

[Otto von Ballpark]

Realistically, though, he’s probably getting 10-15 starts. If he gets 30 starts, it’s because he did well. I think Mejia, Romero, and Gonsalves all will get opportunities in the rotation this year; you need 8-10 starters every year.

People toss out this "you need 8-10 starters every year" line, and it's true in a literal sense. But that doesn't mean 8-10 guys get meaningful opportunities to start. The last few guys on that list are probably looking at 1-5 starts for the year, which is better than nothing but not really much for evaluation or development.

 

15+ starts for Perez is kind of a big deal, relatively, especially on a team that has already committed 3 rotation spots (and corresponding salaries) for expiring contract SPs in Gibson, Odorizzi, and Pineda. They really need to invest something in finding starters for 2020 and beyond, and probably something more than a flyer with an option on a guy like Perez.

Edited January 20, 2019 by spycake

[tarheeltwinsfan]

 

Not counting incentives, the Twins signed Blake Parker and Martin Perez for $5 million.

Cody Allen signed for $8.5 million.

Would people rather have Parker and Perez and $3.5 million salary in the Twins pocket, or spend another $3.5 million (and slightly more to top the Angels offer) and sign Cody Allen and then have that extra roster spot?

EXACTLY/

[Regular Sized Rudy]

 

Perez may be taking one Duffey or Granite's spot on the 40, but he's also taking Moya, Vasquez, Romero, or Hildenberger's spot on the 25 man roster. Still good with that?

I'm fine with that because Perez, Moya, Vasquez, Romero, and Hildenberger's individual performances will dictate how much we end up seeing any of those guys this year. We will probably see Perez more at the beginning of the year but that doesn't mean we won't end up seeing any of those other guys pitching more games than Perez by the time the season is over.

[Otto von Ballpark]

2. He’s 27. It’s unusual to get a former top prospect right at the start of their prime years. (This certainly seems an MO for the FO; get “the shine is off” 27-years olds - Schoop, Austin, Perez.)

Perez is 27 now, but turns 28 as the season starts. Same as Odorizzi last year. Even if Perez returns to his 2016-2017 form, is that really worth much? Roughly league average ERA+ accounting for ballpark. Odorizzi fetched a pretty marginal trade return with similar performances, and was of questionable value on the field to us last year too.

 

What exactly are we aiming for here?