No, this is not a joke. The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals have offered a contract to veteran left-hander Odalis Perez, according to a report in the Washington Post. This makes sense for the pitching starved Nationals. As for Boston, I have one simple question. Why?
I imagine that, if the Sox do sign the 30-year-old Perez, it will be a minor league contract, and the reason Theo Epstein will offer is "for organizational depth." There could be no other feasible answer. Though the Sox are without Curt Schilling, beyond the projected rotation of Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, the team has Julian Tavarez, Devern Hansack and David Pauley as insurance for spot starts and the No. 5 position if an injury arises. Kyle Snyder is a possibility as well, but unless he has a solid spring training, he could be released. Justin Masterson is another option, but he will likely not be ready for a big league start until mid-season at the earliest.
I am confident that the Sox already have enough talent and depth with the aforementioned names, yet I understand why Epstein would choose to acquire a starter in a trade for Coco Crisp or via the free agent route. I don't understand the interest in Perez, who has logged one solid big league season - for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002, when he was 15-10 with a 3.00 ERA, allowing 182 hits in 221.1 innings and 32 starts. In his last four years, Perez has recorded ERAs of 5.64, 6.83, 6.20 and 5.57. In 2007 with Kansas City, he was 8-11 with a 5.57 ERA, surrendering 178 hits in 137.1 innings. Not only is Perez ineffective, he is injury prone, too.
Obviously, Perez would be a low-risk and low-cost reclamation project, much like when the Sox signed Runelvys Hernandez to a minor league deal last season. However, it makes little sense to give innings to someone like Perez instead of left-hander Michael Tejera, a minor league free agent who has a more significant upside. Just because a pitcher has Major League experience does not warrant a contract. Perez clearly can no longer consistently retire big league hitters.
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