Milwaukee Brewers add Angel Perdomo to 40-man roster

Left-handed pitching prospect Angel Perdomo made a strong first impression with the Milwaukee Brewers last spring. After seven seasons of pitching in the low minors for the Toronto Blue Jays, the lanky southpaw inked a minor league pact with the Brew Crew that included an invitation to big league camp in Maryvale, Arizona. He continued that positive momentum into a strong season for two affiliates in 2019, making both his Double-A and Triple-A debuts after never advancing past A-ball with Toronto. Milwaukee’s brain trust was apparently impressed with the developmental progress Perdomo made during the season, because this morning the club announced that the pitcher’s contract had been purchased and that he was added to the 40-man roster.

Though he’s considered a veteran in the minor leagues, Perdomo won’t turn 26 until next May after originally signing with Toronto as an international free agent when he was a teenager. He pitched predominantly as a starter in the minors for the Jays but the Brewers converted him to a full-time relief pitcher in 2019. He thrived working in shorter stints, which allowed him to better leverage his high-octane stuff and befuddle opposing batters.

In seven appearances and 15.1 innings for the Shuckers, Perdomo yielded only two runs while punching out 21 batters. He didn’t prevent runs quite as well in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, working to a 5.17 ERA across 54.0 innings. But he did punch out 86 hitters while allowing only a .230 opponent batting average (despite a hard-luck .355 BABIP). Deserved Run Average believed that his production in Triple-A was still well above-average, giving him an 85 DRA- in 40 games at the level.

Using a mid-90s fastball and slider, Perdomo set a new full-season high with 13.9 K/9 across his 69.1 combined innings. But like many tall pitchers (he’s 6’6”), the left-hander can struggle to keep his delivery on track and loses the strike zone at times. He issued 46 walks for 6.0 BB/9 between the two levels and will have to shore up his control in order to maximize his value at the highest level. But when you are able miss bats like Perdomo can, pinpoint command isn’t exactly necessary in order to succeed. Perdomo worked more than one inning in 24 of his 47 appearances and could have the potential to be a dynamic multi-inning reliever in the big leagues.

Based on his previous contract and service time, Perdomo would have been able to become a minor league free agent this week. David Stearns and company did not allow that to happen, though, retaining him in a similar fashion to how they kept Tyrone Taylor in the organization last season. (Perhaps Slingin’ Stearns read our recent post advocating for Perdomo to be re-signed). He will begin 2020 with a full slate of minor league options.

After shedding nine players from the previously full 40-man yesterday with free agency announcements, the roster now stands at 32 with the additional of Perdomo. Corey Knebel and Bobby Wahl still need to be activated off the 60-day IL, too, and they will once again count against the 40-man once that happens.

Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs, Baseball-Reference, and Baseball Prospectus