Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington yesterday found a key piece for his pitching rotation next season by reaching agreement on a one-year, $8 million deal with former Texas Rangers left-hander Martin Perez, who was 10-4 with a 4.45 ERA in 20 starts last season.
The 32-year-old sinkerball specialist has won 22 games over the last two seasons and was a 2022 All-Star. He’s 85-81 with a 4.44 ERA in 12 seasons in MLB with the Rangers, Red Sox, and Twins.
The Pirates also formally introduced first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who said he’s excited to join a team that “battles and (ticks) people off” with their gritty play. Tellez said all the right things. He called Pittsburgh a “fun city” and he said PNC Park is “the coolest stadium in baseball.” He is hoping to rebound from a year in which he hit only .215 with 13 home runs for the Brewers, after hitting 35 homers the year before.
Tellez says the Pirates are “really young, really good, really talented, and (have) a really good (pitching) staff.”
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