Perez: On Second Thought…

Remember that contract that Odalis Perez signed last week?  Well, nevermind!

Perez is backing away from the deal, claiming that he's not happy with the idea of a minor-league contract or its $850,000 value.   He wants a contract more befitting his status as one of the 10 best left-handers under age 42 still on the free agent market.

While it's easy to say "Screw him!  Who needs him anyway?", the sad fact is that the Nats do need him.  This isn't really a team that can casually toss aside 150+ innings of average starting pitching -- not unless you believe that the 10th year of "this is the year that Danny Cabrera finally gets it" is the charm.

Bowden's squawking, crying foul, claiming that Perez has a contract.  But as any of the three billion lawyers in the D.C. region can tell you, it's all in the details.

Perez claims that he gave verbal approval to the Nats' offer a week or two ago.  Bowden claims to have a signed agreement, saying the Nats "have an agreement with Odalis Perez -- and a signed terms sheet that has been confirmed by the players' association."

Why did he include an "and" in there to separate the agreement from the signed terms sheet unless the signed terms sheet isn't really a contract?

Well, because a signed terms sheet isn't necessarily a contract.

Earlier this offseason, the Braves' John Schuerholz discovered that when free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal walked away from his agreement to sign with the Braves.  Schuerholz responded by blistering Furcal and his reps in the media.

So if the accounts are right, Perez never had a signed contract (the Post reports that his contract isn't in the league contract database), and is within his rights to walk away.

Of course, with the market the way it is, and the lack of interest most teams had in his service, isn't $850,000 better than zippo?

Chris Needham used to write for Capitol Punishment before his contract was mutually terminated.