Rafael Jerome Perez¡wife's name is Cruz Aurora.
2013
Pitched for minor league affiliates in the Minnesota and Boston organizations, going a combined 3-2 with a 2.60 ERA (10 ER/34.2 IP) and 6 saves over 29 relief appearances for Rochester (AAA) and Portland (AA)..…was in spring training with the Twins, signing a minor league deal on Feb. 20, and opened the season continuing to rehab from left shoulder surgery at the end of 2012…..was activated on May 2 and made 4 relief appearances for the Red Wings (4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R-ER) before being released on May 17..…signed a minors deal with Boston on May 21 and spent duration of year at Portland, going 2-2 with a 2.64 ERA (9 ER/30.2 IP) in 25 games..had 30 strikeouts against just 5 walks...pitched for Gigantes del Cibao in Dominican Winter League, posted 1.69 ERA (3 ER/16.0 IP) in 21 games in regular season with 2.31 ERA (3 ER/11.2 IP) in 9 postseason outings…posted playoff win in his last outing on Jan. 16 at Licey.
2012
Season was limited to just 8 relief appearances in April as he never returned to complete health after multiple injuries and rehab assignments…was shut down for the season in September and had underwent an arthroscopic debridement of his left shoulder on Sept. 26 at the Morgan Kalman Clinic in Wilmington, DE, surgery performed by Dr. Craig Morgan…last ML outing was April 25 vs. KC (1.0 IP, 0 R, 2 BB)….placed on 15-day DL on April 26 with a strained left lat…was limited to 6 spring outings due to left shoulder soreness…was shut down during July rehab stint with left shoulder fatigue…returned to rehab with Columbus (AAA) on Aug. 11, but suffered sprained right ankle, which ultimately ended his season.
2011
Finished tied for 2nd in the AL in appearances (71), tied for 10th in relief wins (5), T21st in holds (12) and his 15.9% (7 of 44) of inherited runners who scored ranked 6th among AL set up pitchers...Did not allow an earned run in 56 of his 71 appearances...Did not allow an earned run over his first 12.2IP thru May 6 and 14 appearances (12.2IP, 6H, 1R/0ER)...Snapped a string of 24 straight appearances dating back to Sept. 4, 2010 w/0 ER allowed (20.0IP, 14H, 1R/0ER)...ERA in the 2nd half was 4.62 (31G, 25.1IP, 26H, 13ER) compared to 1.91 in the first half...ERA thru May 31 was 0.92
(19.2IP, 15H, 2ER)...LH batters had an OPS of .604 (.237avg) off him compared to a .708 OPS (.270avg) by right-handed
hitters...Batters hit .235 (27-115) off him with runners on, .246 (17-69) with RISP and .219 (7-32) with RISP-2outs.
2010
Rebounded from some early season struggles over the first few months of the season to post a very solid campaign
while leading the team in appearances...Was 1-0 w/a 7.20 ERA over his first 19 appearances thru the end of May
(15.0IP, 24H, 12ER, .387AVG) and ERA from June 1 thru the end of the season was 1.97 (51 games, 46.0IP, 48H,
10ER, 15BB, 26K)...Overall on the year 55 of his 70 outings were scoreless...Had 5 outings were he allowed 2ER from
the beginning of the year thru May 31...Had a 9.00 ERA in May (8.0IP, 12H, 8ER)...10 of his 43 inherited runners scored (23%), the 15th best % among AL relievers..Finished T10th in the AL in appearances
(70)...From May 22nd thru the end of the year his ERA was 2.16 (56G, 50.0IP, 51H, 12ER)...0 runs in 8 games from
June 3-19...0ER in 12.1IP (15G) from June 1-July 2...From July 8th-on his ERA was 2.20 (32.2IP, 34H, 8 ER)...Was
T5th in the AL with a team-high 6 relief wins...In Sept/Oct. over his final 12 outings of the season his ERA was 1.00
(9.0IP, 12H, 1ER)...Batters hit just .221 (17-77) with RISP and .216 (8-37) with RISP-2outs.
2009
Showed flashes of his 2007 and 2008 consistency late in the campaign in what was otherwise a frustrating
season for Raffy...Allowed runs in 8 of his first 13 appearances before being optioned to AAA Columbus on May
5 (10.2IP, 19H, 18ER, 9BB, 5K, .422AVG)...Made 9 appearances at AAA Columbus (9.0IP, 9 H, 0R, 0.00ERA)
before being recalled again on May 29...Made 6 more appearances (5.1IP, 6H, 6ER, 10.32) ERA with Cleveland
before being optioned a second time on July 8...Recalled final time on August 7th and spent the remainder of the season with the Indians and went 3-1 w/a
5.56 ERA in 23 games (22.2IP, 29H, 14ER, 7 BB, 11K, .309 AVG)...Over his last 8 outings his ERA was 4.37
(8.1 IP, 8 H, 4ER) from Sept. 12 thru the end of the season... At Columbus this year he was 1-0 w/3 saves and
a 0.83ERA (21.2IP, 23H, 3R/2ER, 5BB, 23K) in 16 games....Had four outings with Cleveland where he allowed
4 or more runs that ballooned his ERA...Overall 33 of his 54 outings were scoreless...18th in the AL among relievers in inherited runner % (28%)...LHH had an OB/SLG/OPS of .480/.588/1.068
and hit .412 (35-85) off him overall...RHH had .359/.411/.770 and hit .277 (31-112)...Batters hit .351 (33-94)
with runners on, .313 (20-64) with RISP and .125 (3-24) with RISP-2outs...Did not allow a run over a hit over
his 3 World Baseball Classic outings for the Dominican Republic (3.0IP, 0H, 3K, 0-for-10)...Pitched for Cibao
after the season in the DR Winter League.
2008
Enjoyed another productive season in relief as he was the most reliable and consistent member of the bullpen in
2008 for Eric Wedge...Led the team in almost every relief category as finished T6th in the AL in games pitched
(73), T6th in relief innings (76.1IP), 3rd in relief strikeouts (86) and T3rd w/a team-high 25 holds...53 of his 73
outings were scoreless and he was 2 for 7 in save situations...Notched first save on July 25 vs. Minnesota...From April 25th thru the end of the season his ERA was 3.11 (66.2IP, 52H, 23ER, 77K, .214avg)...Fanned 10.1
batters per 9.0IP on the season...Did not allow a run over 12 straight outings from April 24-May 22 (10.2IP),
the longest stretch by an Indians reliever this season...From July 30th on his ERA was 3.72 (29.0IP, 23H, 12ER,
42K, .207avg)...Recorded a strikeout in 28 of his last 36 outings (50K, 40.0IP) from July 1 -on...Lefties recorded an on-base % of .300 and a slugging % of .299 (.599OPS)...RHH OPS just .683...Batters hit
.280 (33-118) w/runners on and .284 (21-74) with RISP, .265 (9-34) w/RISP-2outs...His .222 average against
by lefties was 19th in the AL...Overall MLB hitters batted .234 (67-286, 8 HR)...Indians were 43-30 (.589)
when he appeared.
2007
Was arguably the most dominant left-handed reliever in the American League and one of the top relievers overall in 2007, forming a formidable setup tandem with Rafael Betancourt for Eric Wedge...Posted the third lowest ERA among AL relievers (1.78) as his .219 (41-219) batting average against was the sixth lowest mark among AL bullpen pitchers...Also ranked fifth in runners allowed per 9.0IP (8.3) and sixth in percentage of inherited runners scored (16%, 6 of 37)...Also, his first batter average of .049 (2-41) was lowest in the AL...His .191 (17-89) average against with runners on was fifth among AL relievers...Recorded first Major League win on Aug. 23 at Detroit and first ML save on Sept. 5 at Minnesota...Was T18th among relievers in the AL w/62 strikeouts...Lefties posted a slugging percentage of .241 and an on-base percentage of .209 off Raffie...ERA in the second half was 1.49 in 31 games (36.1IP, 24H, 6ER)...ERA from Aug. 2 on was 1.30 in 23 games (27.2 IP, 19H, 4 ER) and from Aug. 22 thru end of the season was 1.53 in 16 games (17.2IP, 11H, 3ER)...34 of his 44 outings were scoreless...Did not allow an earned run over his first 13.2IP of his Major League season from May 5 to June 9...Had 2 outings all year where he gave up two or more earned runs...Allowed an OPS of .530 on the year...Batters hit .164 (9-55) with RISP (11th in AL) and .133 (4-30) with RISP-2 outs...BUFFALO - Started the year at Buffalo where he made eight outings/seven starts as Triple-A hitters batted .298 (53-178) off him, including a mark of .325 (13-40) by left-handed hitters...Allowed two runs or more in each of his starts...Was recalled for his first stint with Cleveland on May 3 and optioned back two days later...Was recalled for the final time on May 28 and spent the rest of the year in Cleveland.
2006
Converted reliever made the rise to the big leagues all the way from AA Akron, spending 3 stints at the big
league level...Began his 2006 season in the rotation at AA Akron and was recalled to Cleveland on April 20th
where made his Major League debut that day in Baltimore (1.0IP, 0H, 0R, 2K) before being optioned back to
Akron on April 22nd...While with the Aeros he went 4-5 with a 2.81 ERA in 12 starts (67.1IP, 53H, 21ER, 22BB, 53K)...Over his last
8 starts at Double A he was 3-2 w/a 1.03ERA (47.2IP, 28H, 7ER, 35K) as lefties at Akron hit .145 (9-62) off
him...Perez was then recalled to Cleveland where he pitched out of the bullpen from June 9-July 18...In his 2nd stint
with Cleveland he was 0-0 with a 4.70 ERA in 11 relief appearances (7.2IP, 7H, 4ER, 4BB, 8K)...Following his
2nd stint with the Indians he was optioned to AAA Buffalo on July 18th where he went 0-3 with a 2.63 ERA
(27.1IP, 20H, 8ER, 8BB, 33K, 0HR) in 13 relief appearances out of the bullpen for the Bisons.
u With Buffalo he had at least 1K in all 13 games as lefties hit just .115 (3-26) off him at Triple A with 0 extra
base hits...Recalled for the 3rd time on Sept. 5 and went 0-0 w/a 4.91 ERA in 6 September outings (3.2IP, 3H,
2ER, 5K)...15 of his 18 outings were scoreless...Major League batters hit just .204 (10-49) off him with 2HR allowed, including a mark of .130 (3-23) vs. LHH
(all singles)...Indians were 2-16 when he appeared as 2 of his 19 inherited runners scored...Batters were 3-22
(.136) off him with runners on and 1-12 (.083) off him with RISP (0-6 w/RISP-2outs)...Pitched for Cibao in
DWL after the season (3-0, 1.41ERA, 8G, 32.0IP, 20H, 5ER, 24K)
2005
Split the season between A Kinston and AA Akron as his career-high 12 wins were tied for 3rd in the Indians organization...
Started the year at A Kinston, winning his four of his first five starts to go 4-0 w/a 0.60 ERA thru starts
of May 3 (30.0IP, 16H, 2ER, 27K)...Did not allow an earned run over his first 3 starts (18.0IP, 8H, 3R/0ER)...Lost
three straight starts, May 9-20, allowing 16 runs (16ER) in 10.0IP...
Won four of his final six decisions for Kinston, going 4-2 w/a 2.63 ERA (37.2IP, 23H, 11ER) and was promoted to
AA Akron on June 27...At the time of the promotion his 8 wins were tied for first in the league and his 3.36 ERA was
9th...Overall at Kinston batters hit .194 (54-279) with 6HR allowed, including a mark of .185 (38-205) by RHH...
Batters hit .164 (10-61) off him with RISP and .082 (2-23) with RISP-2outs at Kinston...
Made his Akron debut on July 2 vs. Binghamton (6.1IP, 4H, 4R/0ER, season-high 9K) and over his first four starts
he was 2-1 w/a 0.99 ERA (27.1IP, 20H, 3ER)...Pitched in relief over 7 straight appearances from July 20-August 12
and went 0-0-1 w/a 1.26 ERA (14.1IP, 11H, 6R/2ER, 11K) before making four more starts to conclude the regular
season (2-2, 2.88 ERA, 25.0IP, 22H, 8ER)...
Went 1-1 w/a 3.75 in 2 playoff starts for the Eastern League champion Aeros (12.0IP, 15H, 5ER, 13K)...Overall at
Akron he limited EL hitters to a .215 (53-247) average against w/5HR allowed...Double A left-handed hitters hit
.133 (8-60) off him w/2HR allowed and batters hit .143 (8-56) off him with RISP (.138, 4-29, w/RISP-2outs)...
Contract was purchased from AA Akron and added to 40-man roster on November 18.
2004
Spent the year at A Lake County where he started the year off at 0-5 and did not win his first decision until
his 10th start on 6/11...Fanned a season-high 9 batters on 7/3 vs. Kannapolis and won 6 straight decisions from
6/11 to 8/6...Won 7 of his last 8 decisions on the year...From 7/3 on he was 5-1 w/a 3.00 ERA in 11 starts (63.0IP,
54H, 21ER)...Ended the season w/a spot start for Kinston on 9/3...Made 1 appearance in the CL playoffs.
2003
Named Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year at Rookie A Burlington, leading the league in wins (9-3) and ERA (1.70) while finishing 2nd in the AL in innings (69.0) and 5th in strikeouts (93)... Batters hit .220 (56-254) w/1HR allowed.
2002
His 0.96 ERA was 2nd in the DSL.
