As the centerpiece of the 2017 Justin Verlander deal, the inability of right-hander Franklin Perez to stay on the mound, let alone develop into the pitcher that was hoped, is at the center of their flawed rebuilding effort. He remains a strange enigma. Perez has never had surgery, and yet he’s been unable to stay on the mound for almost four years now.
Perez was apparently healthy and able to get some work in at the alternate training site in 2020, and he pitched in spring training this year as well, marking the longest period of apparent arm health since the Tigers acquired him.