Texas Rangers locked up young pitcher Martin Perez until 2020, potentially

(USA Today) The hot stove got you itching for baseball news? Free agency started Monday and not much has happened yet (that's usually how it goes, kids, sorry).

But here's some super exciting contract news. Drumroll, please. The Texas Rangers have agreed to a new four-year contract with ... Martin Perez. Yes, the 22-year-old left-handed pitcher who went 10-6 with a 3.62 ERA in his first full season.

Perez got the most attention this year when he started Game 163 for the Rangers against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rangers lost the tiebreaker game and Perez gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings. He did, however, go 5-0 in August with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He was the third-rated prospect in the Rangers organization according to Baseball America heading into this season.

We jest above, obviously, about this being super exciting news. But it is a smart deal for Texas. Particularly because of the three option years, which would potentially keep Perez in a Rangers uniform until 2020. The new deal skips what would have been arbitration years in 2015 and 2016.

This isn't the kind of move that gets fans in Arlington excited for a brighter 2014 (the kind that doesn't involve a tiebreaker game, for instance). But it it the kind of deal that could seem brilliant in three years.

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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

via Y! Sports Blogs - Yahoo Sports http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/texas-rangers-locked-young-pitcher-martin-perez-until-211250279--mlb.html