Rays showing interest in former Orioles lockdown reliever

The lack of left-handed presence in the Rays bullpen has got the front office on the toes with any potential southpaw. Currently, the only lefty relievers on the roster are Garrett Cleavinger and recently acquired Ken Waldichuk. Especially due to the Rays' nact for matchups throughout a game and season, adding left-handed relievers almost seems like a must. Tampa Bay's scouts have found a former divisional rival that could fit in well in their bullpen. The only problem is that the Rays aren't the only club keeping tabs on him.

Rays showing interest in former Orioles set-up man, Cionel Perez

Cionel Perez has had a rather inconsistent career as he's only posted one positive WAR season in eight years. After putting up ridiculous numbers at the age of 18 in the Cuban National Series, the left-handed hurler was signed by the Houston Astros. Perez went 7-2 with a 2.06 ERA in Cuba as a starting pitcher. He would continue to start games in the Astros farm system and posted solid stats. Perez was able to be promoted to Double-A Corpus Christi in only one campaign and made his MLB debut a year later.

Due to Perez's effective heater, the Astros immediately transitioned him into a relief pitcher when he joined the major league clubhouse. However, he didn't last too long in the big leagues as Perez was up and down all season between the Astros, Triple-A Fresno, and Double-A Corpus Christi. He showed complete dominance with the Double-A club, posting a 6-1 record and an absurd 1.98 ERA.

For some reason, Perez had trouble sticking with the Astors as he performed much worse for them in 2019. His 10.00 ERA in nine innings of work ultimately led his demise with the organization. The Astros would trade Cionel Perez to the Reds prior to the 2021 campaign. His performance in Cincinnati was also very faulty as the Cuban hurler didn't make his ascent until he arrived in Baltimore in 2022.

This was a magical season for Perez as he finished with a 7-1 record and a 1.40 ERA. All of his incredible minor league seasons finally came to fruition with the Orioles and Rays' certainly felt it. Tampa Bay saw plenty of the dominant reliever as he tossed 10 games against them with a 1.93 ERA. In fact, Perez's ERA in 2022 was top 3 among qualified AL relief pitchers behind only former Rays reliever Ryne Stanek and masterful closer Emmanuel Clase. The Rays are hoping to be on the other end of a successful campaign from Perez as they pursue the high-intensity pitcher.