Franklin

Perez

Perez was universally-regarded as a top 100 prospect and was a central component of the trade that sent Justin Verlander to the Astros back in 2017. The 26-year-old righty battled injuries in Detroit and never wound up making the majors before being released last August.

Perez is probably most famous for being the headliner in the Tigers’ return for trading Justin Verlander to the Astros. Franklin Perez, Daz Cameron, and Jake Rogers were sent to Detroit and now only Rogers remains in the organization. Perez has, sadly, battled injuries since being traded, never pitching more than 25 innings in a season for Detroit. He’s only 25 years old and could latch on with another organization but it seems that his time as a potential frontline starting pitcher might be over.

Perez has told reporters that he feels fully healthy and hasn’t experienced any pain this spring as he works his way back from last May’s season-ending shoulder surgery. The 24-year-old former top prospect isn’t on the Tigers’ 40-man roster anymore, but he’s still an intriguing long-term reclamation project for the organization.

Perez underwent right shoulder surgery last May and wound up re-signing a minor-league pact with the Tigers shortly after being jettisoned from their 40-man roster at the time. The 24-year-old righty was a highly-regarded pitching prospect just a few seasons ago and was one of the centerpieces of the Justin Verlander trade back in 2017. He’s struggled to stay healthy and has yet to make his big-league debut.

Perez cleared unconditional waivers after the Tigers released the right-hander on May 12. The 23-year-old just underwent right shoulder surgery on May 11, but Detroit needed to create room on the 40-man roster and the right-hander was the odd man out. Perez was one of the central pieces in the blockbuster Justin Verlander trade back in 2017.

A harsh move here by the Tigers after Perez underwent right shoulder surgery on Wednesday, but they needed to clear out a 40-man roster spot in order to add catcher Eric Haase. Perez, 23, was the centerpiece of the Justin Verlander trade from back in 2017 and has posted strong minor league numbers when healthy.

Obviously this isn’t promising news. Perez is dealing with a right shoulder capsule defect and has already been placed on the injured list with High-A West Michigan to begin the minor league season. The 23-year-old was the centerpiece of the Justin Verlander trade with the Astros, but he’s dealt with non-stop injuries. It’s unclear what might be next for him.

No word on the exact nature of the procedure, but we already knew Perez was dealing with a right shoulder capsule defect. All Hinch would say Tuesday is that the 23-year-old is expected to be out for “a while.” Perez was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Justin Verlander to Houston, but it’s been non-stop injuries for him.

Littlefield explained, “We feel very confident there’s a future here for Franklin... When healthy, he’s very talented. He obviously had really strong performances in the past. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get him out there as healthy for a long time.” Perez -- the prize of the return package that the Tigers received from the Astros in the Justin Verlander deal -- finally made it through the 2020 season healthy after dealing with a right lat strain in 2018 and shoulder inflammation in 2019. He made it through summer camp healthy and pitched at the team’s alternate training site throughout the season, but never made an appearance with the big league club. He makes for an intriguing late-round flier for 2021 fantasy drafts.

Perez resumed working from a mound in February after taking several months off to a heal a shoulder issue, and it looks like he should be able to pitch in intraquad games at some point this summer. The 22-year-old was included in the Tigers’ initial player pool, but it’s unclear whether he’ll see any actual MLB action.