Juan Perez

Perez earned his way onto the Pirates' 25-man Opening Day roster after giving up just one run in 11 spring training outings, a span of 9.1 innings. He was rarely used in April, however, and was sent to Triple-A when fellow lefty John Grabow came off the DL. At Indianapolis, Perez compiled a 4.69 ERA and 1.383 WHIP. Pittsburgh recalled him in September, and Perez fared just alright, finishing with a 4.38 mark in 17 games. A best case scenario has him turning into a Damaso Marte-like situational pitcher, but that won't happen until he gains better command of the strike zone. At 27, time is running out on Perez.

The Pirates claimed Perez, 28, off of waivers from the Mets during the 2006 season. The lefty posted some nice numbers in the minors for New York, registering a 2.57 ERA in 47 minor-league appearances. The going wasn't quite so easy when the Pirates recalled him the first week of September. Perez went 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA with Pittsburgh in seven games. Unless the Pirates trade a number of relievers, Perez has little chance of making his way to the bullpen at PNC Park before another possible September callup.