The Texas Rangers have informed Martin Perez that they will be declining his 2019 team option, per the beat guys on Twitter. Perez will, as a result, be a free agent after the season.
The Rangers have also announced that Perez will be working out of the bullpen the rest of the year.
Perez was once the Rangers top pitching prospect, and after a good 2013 and a great start to 2014 he appeared poised to break through. He was hit with a torn UCL in early 2014, however, had Tommy John surgery, and since then, his stuff — and in particular, his changeup, which had been his out pitch — hasn’t been the same.