Minnesota Twins sign Martin Perez who could become the team’s next Brandon Kintzler

The Minnesota Twins signed pitcher Martin Perez to a one deal Saturday, and as a starter he is a confusing signing but he could help the bullpen.

The Minnesota Twins added to their pitching depth on Saturday as they added former Texas Rangers pitcher Martin Perez on a one year deal worth $3.5 million with an option for a second in 2020. Perez has been viewed as a starting pitcher most of his major league career. In that light, Perez is a confusing signing.

The Twins can use an upgrade in their rotation but Perez doesn’t represent that. Perez’s best season came back in 2013 when he still qualified as a rookie and started 20 games, tossed 124.1 innings, and turned in a 3.62 ERA.

Since then Perez’s ERA has remained above 4.30. In 2018 it was that much worse as his ERA sat at 6.22 with his only saving grace being that he was dealing with an injured elbow following an incident with a bull before the 2018 season.

So what do the Minnesota Twins see in a 28-year-old with a bad ERA on a pitching staff that already has its fair share of young guys battling to be the 5th starter? I know that is the question I initially asked especially with other starting options still available in free agency. The problem may be that Perez isn’t meant to be a starter with the Twins.

The bullpen is certainly a place where the Twins could collect as many arms as possible. The role of the second left-hander also seems to be completely open at this point. Gabriel Moya and Andrew Vasquez will certainly get their chance to make a run at it but adding another arm into the mix doesn’t hurt.

On one hand, as a former starter, Perez is an intriguing option as an opener which leaves a potential spot open for one of those other two lefties to stay in the mix in the middle or late part of games. Then again, Perez could provide a similar bullpen option for the Twins as someone from their past, Brandon Kintzler.

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Kintzler was a bit older at 31 when he came to the Twins but also is a pitcher that doesn’t fit the strike-out reliever that so many teams are trying to collect in modern baseball. The Twins saw first hand how Kintzler can still be effective and while the handedness is different there are some striking similarities between the two pitchers.

Both Kintzler and Perez primarily use a 93 mph sinker. Their career ground ball rates are similar with Kintzler at 56.4% and Perez at 51.1%. Neither pitcher is going to do much in the way of striking batter outs as Kintzler’s strike percentage is a career 17.4% and Perez a career 13.9%. So while it took a bit of digging, it does seem there is potentially something more there in the Perez signing than just GM Thad Levine giving an old friend a chance.

As a prospect Perez often was praised for his stuff and maybe a move full time to bullpen will help him unlock the potential that was once there. Unlocking that potential could become one of the first big tests of the Twins new duo of pitching coaches Wes Johnson and Jeremy Hefner.

If this move for Perez is to make him the Minnesota Twins 5th starter and push the likes of Stephen Gonsalves, Adalberto Mejia, and Fernando Romero aside this move makes very little sense. If Perez could become a reliever that gives a bit of a different look as a high-rate ground ball pitcher, it may just work out.