Oliver Perez: Seattle Mariners Ink Pitcher to Minor League Contract

The Seattle Mariners have signed left-handed starting pitcher Oliver Perez to a minor league contract, the team’s Web page reports.

The 30-year-old, who spent 2011 in the Washington Nationals organization with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators, will earn $13,000 a month in the minor leagues. If he makes the team’s major league roster, he can earn $750,000.

Perez last pitched at the major league level for the New York Mets in 2010, going 0-5 with a 6.80 ERA in 17 games, seven of which he started. He was released by the New York squad in March 2011.

Always hampered by poor control, Perez has seen spikes of excellence in a career plagued by mediocrity. In 2004, he posted a 2.98 ERA with 239 strikeouts for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and in 2007, with the Mets, Perez went 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA.

His other seasons, however, are more typical Perez performances. In 2008, he led the league in walks and in 2009, his ERA was 6.82. Despite having a solid strikeout ability while allowing less than a hit per inning throughout his career, success has been difficult for Perez to come by.

The Mexico native, who debuted with the San Diego Padres in 2002, is 58-69 with a 4.63 ERA in nine major league seasons. He turns 31 in August.

In other news, the Mariners re-signed minor leaguer Luis Antonio Jimenez, who played his first year in the M’s organization in 2011. The veteran has 121 home runs in 837 minor league games.