McAdam: Red Sox pass on option for Martin Perez, qualifying offer for Jackie Bradley Jr.

Already in need of reinforcements for their starting rotation, the Red Sox elected to walk away from one of their two reliable 2020 starters, declining to pick up the $6.25 million 2021 option for lefty Martin Perez, making Perez a free agent.

The move does not preclude Perez from re-signing with the Red Sox at a smaller salary. But that appears doubtful at this point.

Before Sunday's 5 p.m. deadline, the Red Sox had attempted to negotiate a lower guarantee, without success. One baseball source, with knowledge of the negotiations, said the Sox and the pitcher appeared to be "heading in different directions.''

Perez, signed last winter as one of two major league free agents by chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, was given a $6 million deal for 2020 with the 2021 option and a $500,000 buyout. But this offseason's slumping economy -- the result of big losses in 2020 and the potential for more in an uncertain 2021 -- has forced a re-evaluation of contracts and the Sox thought Perez wasn't worth the $6.25 million, a figure that appeared modest not long ago.

Or, it may simply be that the market now presents them with better options at the same money.

He was signed with the idea that he would be a back-end starter, following Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi. But by the time the season began, only Eovaldi remained in the rotation with Sale sidelined by Tommy John surgery in March, Price dealt with Mookie Betts to the Dodgers and Rodriguez out for the year following complications from contracting COVID-19.



Still, Perez performed relatively well, finishing with a 3-5 mark in 12 starts. His 4.50 ERA was somewhat deceiving, since he entered his final outing of the year with a 3.88 ERA before allowing six earned runs in four innings in what was arguably his worst start of the season.

Perez led the club in both starts and innings (62) and subtracting his two bookend starts (first and last), he had a 3.57 ERA. Three times, he pitched six or more innings, allowing one or no runs, and didn't not claim a win.

Heading into next spring, the rotation remains in flux. Eovaldi is a holdover, as is rookie Tanner Houck, who shone in three September starts. But Sale almost certainly won't be fully recovered from surgery when the season gets underway April 1 and Rodriguez's availability is also a question mark since he missed all of last year and is dealing with myocarditis (inflammation of the heart).

Perez had repeatedly said he hoped to remain with the Red Sox. Ironically, one of Perez's motivations for signing with the Sox initially was the opportunity to play for Alex Cora, who left the Sox a little more than a month after the pitcher signed. Now, with Perez at least temporarily out of the picture, there exists the possibility that Cora could return to manage the team, while Perez heads elsewhere.

The Sox also chose not to offer free agent Jackie Bradley Jr. a qualifying offer. Had the Sox done so, Bradley would have had 10 days to accept a one-year, $18.9 million deal. Had he rejected it, the Red Sox could have reaped an extra draft pick when he signed elsewhere. Now, Bradley is free to sign wherever he chooses -- including back in Boston -- without any compensation attached to him.

Also, in a move that surprised absolutely no one, J.D. Martinez officially informed the Red Sox that he would not be opting out of his deal. Martinez suffered through his worst season in six years in 2020, but even with one of his normal years would have been hard-pressed to come close to matching the $19.375 million he has coming both next year and 2022.