WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Because he had a terrific season in the bullpen at Triple-A Fresno in 2015, and battled back from Tommy John surgery after missing nearly all of 2016, 27-year-old right-handed reliever Tyson Perez was rewarded with a non-roster invitation to Major League camp.
Perez is one of 10 players in camp acquired by the Astros prior to the December 2011 hiring of general manager Jeff Luhnow, a group that includes impact players like Dallas Keuchel, Jose Altuve and George Springer. Perez, who had surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament on Sept. 23, 2015, got on the mound for three games late last season and has thrown two scoreless innings for the Astros this spring.
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"It felt good to be out there with your teammates and friends, [rather] than rehabbing and doing monotonous stuff every day," said Perez, taken in the 17th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. "It's better to play a game against the best, and play with the best players. It was a lot of fun."
Perez pitched in the Arizona Fall League following the 2014 season, then posted a combined 2.45 ERA with 13 walks, 34 strikeouts and a .201 batting average against in 42 games in '15 between Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno prior to getting hurt.
"Every organization has someone you want to reward, and it's because of how he performed in the upper levels of the Minors in 2015," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "He battled back and was able to get one inning in the Gulf Coast League. But he was on track to come to camp last year until the injury. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to let him know he's still someone we've been keeping our eyes on."