Chicago White Sox: Bring Martin Perez to pitching staff
The Chicago White Sox should consider going for Martin Perez in free-agency.
The Chicago White Sox had a decent year with some of their pitchers. We know that going into 2021 that Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel are going to be the number one and number two. After that, we aren’t quite sure who will be in the rotation beyond that. There are some very nice options out there to be the number three next year but the also might need some help beyond that too. Martin Perez would be a great option as the number four or five guy.
The Boston Red Sox declined Perez’s option yesterday. It doesn’t mean that he is for sure going to leave but every team is officially able to go for him. The White Sox would be a better team than they are right now if Perez was one of their options at the back end of the rotation. He is certainly more trustworthy than guys like Reynaldo Lopez, Gio Gonzalez, or Carlos Rodon at this point.
Perez became a very popular player in the Red Sox community. The fans loved him this year because he was the best pitcher on a team that was very bad. Chris Sale is out recovering from Tommy John, David Price was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Rick Porcello is a New York Met. Hashtag Perez Day was something that the people of Boston loved to see.
He wasn’t an all-star pitcher by any means but he certainly was a guy who gave them good starts. He had a 3-5 record with a 4.50 ERA and 1.339 WHIP. He struck out 46 over a span of 62.0 innings pitched. His 1.1 WAR in 12 starts showed that he was decent for most of the year.
If the White Sox wanted to take a flyer on him he probably wouldn’t be that expensive. He played for the Texas Rangers for the first seven years of his career. Then, he spent one year each with the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox. In that year with the Twins, he had a somewhat high ERA of 5.12 but he had a record of 10-7 which isn’t bad. If he can simply win games to that extent as a lower in rotation starter, the White Sox would be much better off.
Hot. November is a big month for the Chicago White Sox. light
His experience with the Twins also shows that he has a bit of extra experience against the American League Central. The White Sox might benefit from that familiarity. Even with the Texas Rangers, he was able to see the Central a decent amount of times. If he was willing to come to the South Side of Chicago, the White Sox would be sneaky smart to make it happen.