ARLINGTON -- When Mart¨ªn P¨¦rez signed a one-year deal with the Rangers during Spring Training, he had a good feeling about what was to come.?

¡°If they give me the chance to pitch every five days, something good is going to happen,¡± P¨¦rez recalled.?

Something good did happen for the 31-year-old lefty. P¨¦rez¡¯s 2022 season came to its conclusion on Monday after he tossed six innings with one run allowed in a 3-1 loss to the Yankees at Globe Life Field, lowering his ERA to a career-best 2.89 over 196 1/3 innings.?

P¨¦rez finished 2 1/3 innings shy of his career high in 2016 (198 2/3) and one win shy of his career best in ¡®17 (13), while also logging a personal best in strikeouts (169)

It¡¯s just the 12th time a Rangers pitcher has ended a season with a qualifying ERA below 3.00, and he joins Yu Darvish in 2013 as the only Texas starters to have a sub-3.00 ERA with at least 195 innings.

¡°It¡¯s been a really good year for him,¡± said interim manager Tony Beasley. ¡°He¡¯s taken the ball just about every turn and given us quality innings and given us a chance to win just about every game he's been involved in. It's a testament to him and the work he's put in and his ability to execute pitches, to be able to minimize damage. It's been a complete package of just solid pitching, and he kind of looked like the art of pitching. It's been fun to watch him pitch.¡±

Early in the season, the focus on P¨¦rez was how he had changed since his first stint with the Rangers from 2012-18. The club¡¯s former top prospect was full of potential that was never quite realized by the time he left the club.?

For P¨¦rez, his maturity and ability to stop the bleeding if and when he gets into tough situations has defined his second stint, as he¡¯s become the most stable part of the Rangers¡¯ rotation in 2022.

After reaching 10 years of service time earlier this season and earning his first career All-Star bid, P¨¦rez desperately wanted to prove that his first half wasn¡¯t a fluke. While he didn¡¯t quite match his pre-All-Star Game ERA of 2.68, he earned a 3.16 afterwards, proving he was a different pitcher than in the past.??

¡°I have the talent, and I have the pitches,¡± P¨¦rez said. ¡°I know how to pitch, and I just had to keep strong and get zeros on the board, because like I said, I'm just going to give good moments to my teammates and try to win the game. But I was not expecting this. It was not easy, because there have been a lot of downs. But I try to be positive and try to have fun with my teammates. ¡­ I¡¯m just really happy with my season.¡±

While P¨¦rez¡¯s performance on the field has been game-changing, his leadership off the field has been vital for the Rangers¡¯ group of young pitchers on the staff.?

Beasley said during the Rangers¡¯ series in Anaheim last weekend that rookie Cole Ragans ¡°follows P¨¦rez around,¡± asking questions and learning about what it takes to be a big leaguer.

For P¨¦rez, he sees it as a sort of pay-it-forward after guys like Colby Lewis, Derek Holland and Cole Hamels did the same for him when he was a younger pitcher.

¡°He¡¯s constantly talking to the guys about pitching and worth ethic and mindset, with just how to approach a game and approach situations,¡± Beasley said. ¡°Ragans kind of mimicked some of the things that Mart¨ªn does. ¡­ He's been a mentor for him, and he has just been a positive in the clubhouse overall.?

¡°He's a leader and he takes care of things. He sends the right messages and has the right conversations with players. He's definitely been a plus for the pitching staff.¡±