Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Martin Perez (54) poses for a photo on media day at the team’s spring training facility in Glendale, AZ. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
CHICAGO – The White Sox started pitchers with no more than two seasons of MLB experience in the first three games of the 2025 season, but on Monday it’s the veteran’s turn.
Left-handed pitcher Martín Pérez is in his 14th MLB season, which includes 269 career starts, over 1,500 innings, an All-Star nod in 2022 and a World Series title with the Texas Rangers. The White Sox represent Pérez’s sixth MLB team, though he spent nine years in Texas, where he posted a career-best 2.89 ERA across 196.1 innings in 2022.
Pérez signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the White Sox in January, and he had a 2.25 ERA across 16 spring training innings with his new team. He considers Chicago one of his favorite cities, and he’s excited to be part of a starting rotation that hasn’t given up an earned run through 17 innings across three games.
“Happy to be back in a big league stadium again, and I’m proud to be part of this team,” Pérez said. “I think we’ve been doing really, really good. As a group, the expectation that we had before we got here was really high, and I think we’ve been doing good to perform. But individually I’m just ready to pitch, man. … I just want to go far and I want to go deep in the game and do my job and try to get the win.”
Here’s more information on Monday’s game.
White Sox
Twins
White Sox manager Will Venable on Sunday gave an update on outfielder Mike Tauchman, who was placed on the 10-day injured list on Thursday with a right hamstring strain.
“Good. I think he’s healthy or getting healthy, and on track to go out on his rehab assignment here soon and get some at-bats,” Venable said. “We’ll see. I don’t know the exact timeline. We’re still taking it day by day, but encouraged by his progress.”
(2024 stats)
On how he felt in spring training…
Pérez: “Good, man. Spring training was good. There was a lot of things that I was doing with my delivery, especially, and my last two outings in Arizona felt great. I think it allowed for me to do to come here and help the team win. I think our pitching coaches that we have here are doing a great job, not just to me or with me, but all the group and we have a lot of information they can share with us and how we need to pitch and what we’re doing with our delivery. That gives me extra power because it’s just something strong when I got people behind me that are gonna support me, and they’re gonna tell me you’re doing this and you’re supposed to do that will be good.”
On joining the White Sox organization this season…
Pérez: “There’s a lot of talent here. It’s an organization that has a lot of history and I know last year was not a good year, but I think how they finished last year, the last two weeks they performed the way they’re supposed to do. So to be back here with this group is a lot for me because I’ve been around in the league for so many years, and I think the group we have here is a group that they want to learn. They want to get better every day and no matter what. These two games that we’ve been playing we’ve been going out there and we believe in our staff and we believe in our talent. So to be part of this group is a lot for me because I feel great. I feel that I’m enjoying this. Because the thing is when you have a lot of time in the big leagues, at some point it’s going to be a point where you’re not gonna feel the same but I still have that passion and I still have that love for the game, for my teammates and I have that love for the competition. It feels good, man, to be here. This is one of my favorite cities too, and I’m happy to be part of this team.”
On being the veteran in a rotation with several young pitchers…
Pérez: “I just try to tell them how they need to prepare for each outing because it’s not gonna be the same every one. Every five days you’re not gonna go out there and throw six or seven, but the only thing I just tell them is if you prepare, it doesn’t matter what happens outside. We want to get good results, but if you don’t get what you’re looking for, we’ll be fine because you’re prepared for that. The thing is if you don’t prepare, what is in your mind and what is gonna happen outside? Their preparation is really good. They know they need to be ready, and the one thing I love is they ask questions. We share information, they’re really humble guys, and that made me feel really good because I have starters where I can speak about the games and I tell them I’m not to take any job from anybody. I’m just here to help you guys and help the team.”
On the pitching staff’s performance so far…
Pérez: “We’re doing good, we’re doing good. Like I said, we have a lot of talent. We’ve got good communication. We got good pitching coaches. With our manager, I think the energy we have is really nice and as a pitcher I feel blessed to have this group of pitchers because it’s no egoes here and that’s really nice because when you have a group, a humble group, good things are gonna come and we just have to wait for that.”
On what would make a successful start…
Pérez: “I’m just gonna go out there and compete. My pitches are there, and I just need to pitch, man. I’m not a thrower. I’m not throwing 100. I’m gonna hit my spots, and I’m gonna see what they’re trying to do with my pitches and what’s gonna be their plan. I’m gonna do my thing too and try to make them off timing to get a chance to help the team win, that’s all.”
On being a pitcher, not a thrower…
Pérez: “Yeah, because I’m happy, I feel great when I see a pitcher throw 100 like that eighth inning guy [Saturday] was the hardest pitcher last year, 105. That’s great, I mean, I have nothing against them. I’m not a selfish guy, I love that. But when you throw 100 and you throw where you want it, okay, now we’re talking. But you throw 100 and you don’t throw strikes, you’re not gonna pitch for many years. I used to throws 96, sometimes 97, like average 94-95, but I think I have too many miles on my arm so I don’t have that type of velocity. My last three years I’m just trying to throw strikes, to hit my spots, move their eyes, and I think that’s pitching because one of my mentors was Greg Maddux. He always told me, hey, you don’t have to throw hard, you have to put the ball where you want it. That was one of the guys who helped me get to the big leagues in 2012.”
