The White Sox selected the contract of infielder Bobby Dalbec from Triple-A Charlotte, per a team announcement. Fellow infielder Chase Meidroth heads to the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right thumb, while veteran lefty Martin Perez is moving from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Perez exited his most recent start due to forearm soreness and was placed on the 15-day injured list over the weekend due to inflammation in his left elbow.
The Sox haven’t provided further word on Perez’s injury, but the move to the 60-day IL was not expected based on the information that’s been made publicly available. A move to the 60-day IL takes him out until at least late June. That’s a tough blow for the ChiSox, both because Perez has had a nice start to the season and because it clouds his potential outlook as a trade candidate prior to July’s deadline.
Perez, 34, signed a one-year deal worth $5MM over the winter. Through his first three starts with the South Siders, he posted a 1.59 ERA with a 26.9% strikeout rate and 13.4% walk rate in 17 frames. History tells us that Perez is highly unlikely to keep inducing strikeouts at that level but also that his walk rate should be expected to drop substantially; over the past four seasons, Perez fanned just 18.4% of his opponents but also limited his walk rate to a solid 8% mark.
However, Perez was roughed up for four runs in three innings against the Red Sox his last time out. He yielded five hits, including a homer, walked two batters and didn’t record a strikeout. There was no major velocity drop, but Statcast did measure Perez’s cutter at a season-low 84.9 mph on average, down from his 85.5 mph average in his first start. His sinker had a similar dip. That’s not stark enough to prompt major concern, but it’s of some mild note in the wake of this injury update.
More to come.
