The Nationals finally got a free agent signed to their bullpen, landing Cionel Perez on a minor league deal. This is different than the other minor league deals they have signed because Perez has a good chance of making the team. Before the disastrous 2025, Perez was a mainstay in the Orioles bullpen.
If Perez makes the team, he will to make $1.9 million plus another $700,000 in potential incentives. As long as he doesn’t look terrible this spring, Perez should make the team. From 2022 to 2024, Perez made at least 60 appearances in the O’s bullpen. He posted a combined ERA of 3.12 in those three seasons.
So what made Perez such an effective reliever in those seasons and why did he fall off a cliff in 2025? Well, Perez is elite at generating ground balls with his heavy sinker. Perez has done that for his career posted a GB rate of 55.5%. Even in his terrible 2025 season, he was still good at keeping the ball on the ground, with a GB rate of 58.2%.
However, Perez is not a big striker and has had control issues throughout his career. That makes him dependent on his defense and batting luck. Last season he fell victim to terribly hit ball luck, posting a .379 BABIP. This bad luck, combined with a 16.4% walk rate, was why Perez posted an ERA of 8.31 in 19 games.
Despite some of these terrible numbers, the statistics were still positive about him. Last season, his xERA was a respectable 3.93, despite his terrible surface levels. Its actual batting average against was .322 but his xBA was .213. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a big hole.
These discrepancies make him an interesting rebound candidate for the Nats. If Perez can get his walk rate closer to 10% and has more batted luck, Cionel Perez could be a solid piece in the bullpen. He was already 95-96 in a January bullpen, which is nice to see this early in the offseason.
His speed has increased from 97 in 2022 to 95.6 last year, so hopefully he can recapture some of that old velo. There are a lot of questions, but Perez has the ceiling of a reliable center reliever. On this team, that likely means looking at the back of the bullpen.
To be fair, Perez does a lot of the same things as traded Jose A. Ferrer. Both are lefties who throw very hard, but are ground ball oriented pitchers rather than strikeout players. The biggest difference, however, is that Ferrer has much better control.
Another thing I’m interested in here is whether they will make adjustments with Perez. Last season he was threw a sinker, a new slider, a slurve and a 4-seam. Despite being added before the worst year of his career, Perez’s new slider was actually very effective. It was a nice addition to his trunk, which had been his main secondary cast for years.
Going back to Ferrer, he had a really nice change. I wonder if the Nats will trade Perez. Perez has been many things more effective against lefties in his career. Lefties have hit just .211 against Perez, while righties have hit .270. A changeup could be a good weapon for him against right-handed hitters.
Some pitchers just never have a good feel for changeups, so that can be difficult. However, the invention of the kick change was helpful to those pitchers. The kick change does not require pronation like other change-ups. It’s the grip that does the work. Maybe Perez can learn something from that.
Overall, this is a low-risk, medium-reward move. If Perez can’t hit the width of a barn in Spring Training, he simply won’t fit on the team. However, if he looks like the guy he was last season, he will be a reliable piece in the Nats bullpen.
Perez is only 29 and combines experience with at least some youth. He could also be a trade candidate if he performs well in the first half. This is an interesting kite that could work.
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