The Cleveland Indians agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million with left handed relief pitcher Oliver Perez
Oliver Perez is returning to the Cleveland Indians. The free agent lefty agreed to terms with the club on a one-year deal with a vesting option for 2020. Perez appeared in 51 games for Cleveland last season.
While Perez only pitched 31.1 innings he was highly effective in 2018. With career-bests in ERA (1.39) and WHIP (0.742). Perez was often deployed to face only a single batter. With the modern strategy of utilizing a deep bullpen, Perez can be one of Cleveland’s top bullpen arms. Perez was impressive last season against batters who hit from either side of the plate.
Against righties: .104/.218/.104
Against lefties: .194/.215/.274
As mentioned in a tweet from Joel Sherman, Perez was tied with Oakland’s Blake Treinen for limiting opponents OPS last season. That number was a stunningly low .417.
Cleveland is getting value with this deal, which has been a sort of a sore spot for fans to hear. The team is working on controlling payroll while still contending. The deal with Perez is a low-risk, medium reward type of signing. Perez will appear in about a third of the games this season and will pitch less than an inning per appearance.
This is exactly the type of deal the Indians were expected to make
The Cleveland Indians payroll has been a consistent talking point ever since their postseason run came to a screeching halt. Cleveland managed to dump a lot of salary through trades while maintaining near the same level of talent and acquiring talent with higher upside.
The one-year deal with Oliver Perez is probably the first of many deals with veterans worth taking a flier on. The team has done it many times before, Perez is just the latest to do so. A few more deals similar to this will most likely occur between now and Spring Training.
Cleveland intends on building a relatively inexpensive supporting cast to supplement their core players. While it may not be popular, it is the best way for a team like the Indians to operate at this point in time.
