Perez has accepted qualifying offer, per agent

Martin Perez’s agent says Perez has accepted the qualifying offer tendered to him by the Texas Rangers, per a tweet from Efrain Zavarce.

As we discussed yesterday, reports indicated that Perez was likely to accept the qualifying offer. Without the qualifying offer, Perez would potentially be looking at a 3-4 year deal at $15M per year or more. But with draft pick compensation attached, and a number of similar pitchers at similar price points on the market, Perez was going to have a difficult time getting that sort of contract, and thus takes the bird in the hand.

Texas will now have Perez back for the 2023 season on a one year, $19.65 million deal. Given the state of the team’s rotation and the number of holes that are needed to be filled, having Perez locked up means the front office can breathe a little easier. I would expect that the Rangers will be looking to add two more starting pitchers this offseason, but that’s easier than trying to add three, which would have been the case if Perez hadn’t accepted.