Lakeland, Fla. — Initially, the news shocked him. After all, he was one of the top pitching prospects in the Astros’ organization last season, at age 19 already promoted from High-A ball to Double-A. The last thing he expected was to be traded.
Then he found out the details of the deal. On July 31, Franklin Perez was traded to the Tigers in the deal that brought Justin Verlander to the Astros. Heady stuff.
“I didn’t think I would be traded,” Perez said on Friday through interpreter Bryan Loor-Almonte. “But when I found out who it was for, I was really excited.