Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Martin Perez signed a minor league contract with the club in January, but he's showing why he deserves to be at the top level. The 35-year-old allowed one run on two hits over five innings in Saturday's 6-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, and he now has a 3.14 ERA over three outings (two starts) this year.

Perez earned the loss despite his solid outing, as the Braves were held to no runs on five hits. The southpaw gave up a solo homer to Jose Ramirez in the top of the first, and that was the only run the Guardians needed to win the game.

Perez got into a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the second, but he got Steven Kwan to ground out to second on a 90-mile-per-hour sinker. The native Venezuelan then retired the next nine hitters to end his outing.

Although Perez might not keep a rotation role for the entire season, he could work out of the bullpen too. The 6-foot, 210-pounder threw 4.1 shutout relief innings in Atlanta's 5-2 loss to the Athletics on March 31 before allowing four runs over five innings in his first start of the season on April 5. The Braves fell 6-5 in 10 innings to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Perez has started 280 out of his 327 career appearances, pitching to a 91-93 record with a 4.41 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. He went 1-6 with a 3.54 ERA over 11 games (10 starts) with the Chicago White Sox last season.

Although Perez isn't elite, a player with that track record can be useful for a team with title ambitions. Organizations can never have too much pitching, and the veteran has shown that he can eat innings when needed.

Perez signed with the Texas Rangers as an undrafted free agent in 2007, and he made his big-league debut for the team in 2012. He then stayed with them through 2018 before signing with the Minnesota Twins for the 2019 campaign and the Boston Red Sox for 2020 and 2021. He earned All-Star honors in the latter year.

Perez returned to the Rangers for the 2022 and 2023 seasons before signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates for 2024. He won the 2023 World Series with Texas. 

The Pirates traded Perez to the San Diego Padres in July 2024, and he signed with the White Sox the following offseason. He then signed with the Braves in 2026 and didn't make the Opening Day roster, but the club selected his contract on March 30.

Atlanta is now 9-6 after Saturday's loss. Up next is a rubber match with Cleveland on Sunday at 7:20 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on NBC/Peacock.