In theory, the Texas Rangers should have an easy decision when it comes to Martin Perez. He had signed a one year contract this offseason, and as the Rangers are out of the playoff picture, he would normally be on the trade block. Perez is also in the midst of a career year, potentially maximizing the return that the Rangers would get for his services.
There are problems with that theory. The Rangers want to bring Perez back next year and beyond, something that may not be able to happen if he is traded elsewhere. Perez also does not want to leave, making it very clear that his desire is to remain in Texas according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
Texas Rangers, Martin Perez facing countdown
Grant made a point in his tweet about Perez’s desire to remain in Texas. As he noted, trading Perez would make sense. But it also would not look good considering that the Rangers have stated that they want to build a core and contend in the next year or two.
At the same time, one has to wonder how the Rangers and Perez are viewing this season in context to his career. Perez has posted an impressive 2.52 ERA and a 1.152 WHiP over his 125 innings, striking out 107 batters with just 35 walks. However, in his decade in the majors prior to this season, he had posted a 4.71 ERA and a 1.480 WHiP over 1102.2 innings.
Perez has been a part of winning teams in Texas before. He arrived at the end of the 2012 season and was a part of the rotation when they won the division in 2015 and 2016. It is entirely possible that he could be part of the next ones as well.
That could all be determined in the next few days. The Rangers are going to be sellers at the deadline, but they could look to add some longer term pieces to the roster with an eye for 2023 and beyond. If an extension is going to get done, it likely would not happen until the deadline has passed. Of course, he would need to be on the roster for that to happen…
Martin Perez does not want to leave the Texas Rangers and the Texas Rangers want to keep him around. But if the right deal comes along…