Pirates add to starting rotation by signing LHP Martin Perez to 1-year, $8 million contract

The Pittsburgh Pirates addressed their most pressing need by signing a free-agent starting pitcher, agreeing Monday to a one-year deal worth $8 million with left-hander Martin Perez, a source confirmed to TribLive.

Perez, 32, went 10-4 with a 4.45 ERA and 1.41 WHIP, 93 strikeouts and 49 walks in 141 2/3 innings over 35 appearances, including 20 starts, for the World Series champion Texas Rangers last season.

A sinkerballer who drew a respectable 46.1% groundball rate, Perez ranked among baseball’s worst in whiff rate (17.2%) and strikeout percentage (15.3%) last season, when he allowed 21 home runs.

The Venezuelan was an All-Star in 2022, when he went 12-8 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 196 1/3 innings over 32 starts for the Rangers. His ERA ranked fifth in the American League, and his ERA was eighth.

Perez has a career record of 85-81 with a 4.44 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 12 major-league seasons, including nine with the Rangers (2012-18, 2022-23), two with the Boston Red Sox (2020-21) and one with the Minnesota Twins (2019), when Pirates manager Derek Shelton was their bench coach.

The Pirates are desperate for rotational depth, with right-hander Mitch Keller and lefty Marco Gonzales, acquired from Atlanta in a trade, the only traditional starters. They lost JT Brubaker and top-10 prospect Mike Burrows to Tommy John surgery in April, a procedure that also will prevent righty Johan Oviedo from pitching this season.

The Pirates also return right-handers Luis Ortiz, Quinn Priester and Andre Jackson as well as lefty Bailey Falter. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick, Paul Skenes, is one of seven top-10 prospects in the minors, including righties Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington and lefties Anthony Solometo, Hunter Barco and Jackson Wolf.