Brewers: Luis Perdomo Signs Minor League Contract

The former San Diego Padre will not pitch in 2021 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, but he agreed to a minor league deal with the Brewers.

After recently signing first baseman Dustin Peterson, who was the team’s second minor league signing of the month after Zach Green was signed by the team earlier in December, the Brewers’ signing spree continued, as they signed right handed pitcher Luis Perdomo to a minor league deal.

The move was first reported by MLB’s Jesse Sanchez.

Who is new Brewers pitcher Luis Perdomo?

The 27-year old Perdomo was released by the Padres last month after having Tommy John surgery in October. He is expected to be out for all of 2021 as he recovers. Originally a Rule 5 Draft pick from the Cardinals, Perdomo has a career 5.19 ERA in 444.1 innings, and has been in the Majors since 2016.

He was initially used as a starter, however over the last two seasons he has almost exclusively come out of the bullpen.

Over his career, Perdomo recorded 6.74 K/9, a Ground Ball % of 57.3%, and a BB/9 of 3.27 with a 1.52 WHIP. Perdomo also has avoided fly balls, with a career 15.7% fly ball percentage, which should help should he make it to hitter-friendly Milwaukee in 2022.

Perdomo primarily relies on his sinker, but he also throws a slider, change-up, and 4-seam fastball. He does not throw exceptionally fast, but his average fastball velocity in 2020 was 93.9 MPH, which is above league average and places him in the 62nd percentile for velocity. His average slider velocity was 86.3 MPH and his change up was 88.4 MPH.

One of the most interesting aspects of Perdomo is his ability to keep the ball on the ground. He is well above league average for ground ball percentage (58.0% vs 45.3%), his Topped % (44.9% vs 33.6%) and Pop-Up percentage (2.7% vs 7.1%), all of which support his prowess as a ground ball pitcher. That has shown through his ability to avoid barrels, finishing in the 94th percentile for Barrel % in 2019 at 4.1%.

Baseball Savant lists similar pitchers based on the Batted Ball Profile of the pitcher, which tracks where the ball was hit and how hard it was hit. Among those who Perdomo is most similar to: 2019 Marcus Stroman, 2019 Mike Soroka, as well as 2019 Dustin May.

What to expect from Perdomo

Perdomo is in no way the free agent splash that signing Trevor Bauer would be, but a ground ball pitcher may be a welcome sight in Milwaukee. Perhaps the thought is that Perdomo will benefit from rehabbing with access to the Brewers’ pitching lab, and they may be able to help him develop further.

It is unclear what, if any, options are included in this deal that may keep Perdomo in the organization past 2021, but David Stearns and Matt Arnold believe there is something in Perdomo’s arsenal that is good enough to bring on in a season when he will not pitch.

Add Perdomo to the list of minor league signings that the Brewers have completed in recent days. Hopefully this will be a ramp up to some major league signings that are in the team’s future.