Brewers sign Luis Perdomo to minor league deal

Things have been quiet on the major league front for the Brewers this offseason, but David Stearns and Matt Arnold look to be trying to find some under-the-radar value in the final weeks of December.

After signing Dustin Peterson to a minor league deal earlier this week, it’s being repored that the Brewers are doing the same with pitcher Luis Perdomo, formerly of the San Diego Padres.

Perdomo has long flashed promise, but hasn’t had the results to show for it so far in the majors. In parts of 5 seasons, the 27-year-old has a 5.19 ERA in 444.1 career innings, although he did fare better once San Diego pulled the plug on him as a starter in 2019. In 47 games largely in relief that year, Perdomo had a 4.00 ERA in 72 innings, but had a 3.60 FIP.

He only pitched in 17.1 innings this year before suffering an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. The Padres cut him loose rather than offer him arbitration after that. The injury means even though the Brewers are signing him to a minor league deal, he likely won’t pitch in 2021 and would be 29 before he realistically makes an appearance on the big league club.

When healthy, Perdomo has thrown a three-pitch mix, with a fastball averaging 94 mph, and 86 mph slider and an 88 mph changeup. All three were positive pitches when he worked out of the bullpen in 2019.

At best, Perdomo seems to be a potential solid middle reliever down the road, but the Brewers will have to wait to see that come to fruition. In the meantime, they’ll help him with the rehab, and perhaps the Pitching Lab will help him unlock some success he hasn’t seen yet.

Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs