Perez allowed one unearned run over two innings in his Grapefruit League debut against the Pirates on Wednesday, striking out three batters in the process. He was hitting 94-95 mph in the outing, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Interim manager Ron Roenicke said afterward that they want to work with Perez's pitch mix this spring to help him recapture the form he showed over the first two months of last season, perhaps getting him to use his changeup more often and his cutter less frequently. "His changeup is outstanding," Roenicke said. "It's a strikeout changeup."