Reds acquire RHP Hector Perez from the Blue Jays

Add another projectable righty to the pile.

Perez is a victim of a small sample size last year, as he only pitched in 1 ²⁄₃ innings at the big league level, his debut. Eric Longenhagen at Fangraphs ranked him #37 in the Toronto system in an article just published yesterday. His M.O. is pretty similar to what we’ve come to expect in the young arms that the Reds have been picking up, in that he has a plus fastball (with spin!) and he’s going to be cheap. He has a history of control issues, so hopefully this means that Derek Johnson and company can make some changes there to get those sorted out. If that happens, I think this could be a solid, cheap bullpen addition, but that’s a big if for right now.

It doesn’t hurt to take chances on guys like this if you’re the Reds right now. Not only are they not spending money on a front-line reliever, they’re getting rid of the more expensive ones they do have. With the space on the 40-man, there’s little risk to take Perez into spring training and see what they’ve got.