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The Rangers apparently liked what they saw from Martin Perez last year.
Perez, a 22 year old lefthanded pitcher who has been one of the team's top pitching prospects virtually from the time he signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 2007, has agreed to a four year contract for the 2014-17 seasons, with club options for 2018, 2019, and 2020.
The deal guarantees Perez $12.5 million, although no breakdown is available just yet as to how much is attributable to which years. The 2016 and 2017 seasons would most likely have been seasons where Perez was eligible for arbitration, and the 2018 season would have been an arbitration year, as well. Perez would have been eligible for free agency after the 2018 season, so this buys out two of Perez's free agent years.
How good a deal this is for the team will depend on how much the team options are for, but regardless, this is a low-risk deal that ensures that the Rangers can keep Perez in the fold for quite a while, if they wish.