Martin Perez was one of several starting pitchers set to hit the free agent market this winter.
Emerging as the ace of the Texas Rangers this season, Perez went 12-8 in 32 starts with a 2.89 ERA and earned his first career All-Star nod.
The Rangers extended a qualifying offer to the left-hander last week.
But it appears that the Rangers have gotten lucky with their ace.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Perez is expected to accept the Rangers’ qualifying offer ahead of tomorrow’s deadline.
Morosi noted that unless something changes with his market, Perez is expected to be back in a Rangers uniform in 2023.
Source: LHP Martin Pérez is likely to accept the Rangers’ Qualifying Offer by tomorrow’s deadline, barring a change in his marketplace over the next 24 hours. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 14, 2022
Perez Expected To Accept QO
This is good news for the Rangers.
It also still gives them the freedom and financial flexibility to go out and search for an ace.
Reports from Morosi last week indicated that the Rangers were supposedly speaking with the agents of Carlos Rodon and Jacob deGrom.
Having Perez back gives them a boost, but a one-two punch featuring Perez and one of either Rodon, deGrom, or even Justin Verlander might just be enough to take the Rangers back to where they were in the early 2010s: perennial World Series contenders.
Texas signed Marcus Semien, Jon Gray, Brad Miller and Corey Seager last offseason, but it wasn’t enough to prevent them from a 68-94 finish that kept them out of the postseason for the sixth consecutive season.
With Perez likely back, they now have a chance to enhance their starting rotation and build a contender in Texas for the first time since 2016.
NEXT: 2 Moves The Rangers Need To Make This Offseason