The White Sox have signed free agent starting pitcher Martín Pérez to a contract pending a physical, per Robert Murray of Fansided. Pérez will add some much-needed depth to the White Sox starting rotation. Jon Heyman of the New York Post later clarified that Pérez will receive a $3.5 million salary for the 2025 season. There is also a $10 million mutual option for 2026 with a $1.5 million buyout as part of the agreement. Pérez will be guaranteed $5 million from the White Sox.
Pérez, 33, has spent 13 seasons in MLB with five teams. He has been good but not great over his career, pitching to a lifetime 4.44 ERA and 1.45 WHIP at the MLB level. Pérez is coming off a 2024 season in which he put up a 4.53 ERA, 4.90 FIP, and 1.48 WHIP in 135 innings over 26 starts between the Pirates and Padres. He was traded from Pittsburgh to San Diego midseason. It is worth noting that he performed significantly better as the 2024 season progressed. He also has familiarity with new White Sox manager Will Venable from their days with the Texas Rangers.
Durability and the ability to eat innings are the main attributes Pérez provides at this point in his career. He has a long track record of eating innings at the MLB level while remaining healthy and somewhat productive. For a starting rotation as young as the White Sox will be in 2025, adding a stable veteran presence in Pérez will help alleviate the workload concerns of the younger pitchers in the rotation. He is also left-handed, so he will offer a different look from the rest of the projected right-handed rotation of Davis Martin, Jonathan Cannon, Drew Thorpe, and Sean Burke.
Pérez likely will not be a desired trade chip at the deadline, barring something unexpected. Other starting pitching options like Jakob Junis and Jordan Montgomery could have offered more upside. They would have cost more money however. Pérez is affordable, which has been the name of the game for the White Sox this offseason. That said, they still might be able to flip him for something assuming he is respectable in the first half.
Adding a veteran starting pitcher of some kind was a must. After trading away Garrett Crochet earlier in the offseason, they needed someone to take the ball and eat innings. While not an exciting addition, Martín Pérez should be able to do that. As long as he stays healthy and takes the ball consistently, he will have served his purpose for the 2025 White Sox.
