Left-handed reliever Oliver Perez, who had a stretch of 20 consecutive appearances from July 13-Sept. 14 without allowing a run, the fourth-longest streak in club history, parlayed the solid late season into a one-year deal with the Mariners.
Perez, 31, was 1-3 with a 2.12 ERA overall in 33 relief appearances in 2012 with Seattle. The native of Mexico was signed by the Mariners in January as a minor league free agent and called up from AAA Tacoma June 16. He posted the ninth–lowest ERA by an AL reliever with a minimum of 30 appearances.
Perez, a longtime starter, was out of MLB in 2011 after a disastrous season with the Mets (0-5. 6.80), in which the club cut him despite owing him $12 million on a $36 million contract.
“We are happy to have reached a mutual agreement with Oliver,” Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said he a statement. “He did a very nice job in helping solidify our bullpen after his call up last summer. As a veteran left-hander, and one that had adjusted very nicely to his new role, we are looking forward to his contributions.”
With Tacoma he went 2-2 with 1 save and a 4.65 ERA (16 ER, 31.0 IP) with 42 strikeouts in 22 relief appearances.
Perez played 10 major league seasons with San Diego (2002-2003), Pittsburgh (2003-2006), the Mets (2006-2010) and Seattle (2012). He has a career record of 59-72 with a 4.57 ERA (579 ER, 1141.2 IP) with 1150 strikeouts in 239 games (195 starts).