ATLANTA -- Martín Pérez will come to Spring Training looking to prove he is healthy and capable of filling a spot on the Braves’ pitching staff.
The Braves signed Pérez to a Minor League deal on Friday, a source told MLB.com. This agreement, which the club has not confirmed, gives the 34-year-old former All-Star a chance to prove he has recovered from the elbow and shoulder issues that limited him to just 11 appearances (10 starts) with the White Sox last year.
Pérez has been primarily used as a starter throughout his 14-season big league career. So, he will join Hurston Waldrep, Bryce Elder and Joey Wentz as potential fifth-starter candidates.
Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach currently fill the top three spots in Atlanta’s rotation. The Braves are hoping Reynaldo López, who is returning from shoulder surgery, and Grant Holmes, who is trying to prove his elbow is structurally sound enough for him to be effective, are currently slated to fill the rotation’s final two spots.
So, adding another piece of potential insurance makes sense. Elder, Holmes and Wentz are all out of options, and this creates the possibility that at least one of them could begin the season in Atlanta’s bullpen. This would likely be another option for Pérez if he shows he could be a potential asset for the Braves.
Pérez, who will turn 35 barely a week into the 2026 season, is still showing he’s capable of holding down a rotation spot. In 108 innings across 21 games since the 2024 Trade Deadline, when he went from the Pirates to the Padres, the left-hander has a 3.50 ERA. Hampered by elbow and shoulder injuries, Pérez made just 10 starts for the White Sox in 2025, but he finished the year with a 3.54 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 56 innings.
Entering his 15th Major League season, Pérez isn’t too far removed from his breakout 2022 campaign in his second stint with the Rangers. He pitched to a 2.89 ERA in 196 1/3 innings, struck out 169, accrued 5.1 bWAR and earned his first All-Star nod -- a somewhat surprising season for a pitcher who hadn’t posted an ERA under 4.00 since his rookie season in '13.
Pérez received a qualifying offer from the Rangers after the 2022 season, making him ineligible to get one in '25. Thus, there was no Draft pick compensation attached to him, nor was there a penalty for signing him.
Pérez’s standout campaign was followed by a 4.45 ERA in 2023 and a 4.53 mark between Pittsburgh and San Diego in 2024, but he lowered his ERA by nearly a full run in 2025 with Chicago.
Pérez’s Statcast metrics, though, suggest the southpaw benefited from some luck in 2025. Pérez’s expected ERA was 5.32, and his 15% barrel rate was the highest among qualifying pitchers. The lefty was successful in limiting hard contact (78th percentile in average exit velocity allowed), and he found success with his sinker (.171 batting average allowed) and changeup (.177 BA). Pérez primarily features those two pitches along with his cutter, while a sparingly used curveball and four-seam fastball round out his five-pitch arsenal.