According to Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports, the Mets were in on lefty Martin Perez prior to him signing a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Minnesota Twins this afternoon.
Perez spent the first seven years of his career with the Texas Rangers. In 2013, he finished sixth in American League Rookie of the Year after going 10-6 with a 3.62 ERA in twenty starts. However, after making just eight starts in 2014, Perez was forced to undergo Tommy John Surgery and since then he has not been the same.
Last season, he made just 15 starts after being pulled from the rotation in August, and went went 2-7 with a 6.22 ERA. Over his big league career the Rangers used him primarily as a starter, and he went 43-49 with a 4.63 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and 462 strikeouts over 761 innings.
As Heyman notes, the Mets saw Perez as a depth piece, but he was looking to be a rotation piece. The Twins currently have Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, and Stephen Gonsalves in their rotation.
