PEREZ Oliver

General
MLB VETERAN
With his appearances in 2021, he has played in 19 MLB seasons. He made his MLB debut in 2002 with the San Diego Padres before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates the following season. In July 2006 he was traded to the New York Mets and made the most starts of any pitcher in MLB in 2008 with 34. He pitched in 101 games for the Mets until he was released in early 2011 and signed with the Washington Nationals, where he played with Double-A affiliate team the Harrisburg Senators. Following that season, he opted to change from being a starting pitcher to reliever and returned to MLB in 2012 with the Seattle Mariners, and would later play for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros and Nationals. He played for the Cleveland Indians from June 2018 until May 2021, when he became a free agent and joined Mexican Baseball League side Toros de Tijuana. During his career, he has also played in the Mexican Pacific Winter League with Tomateros de Culiacan. (baseball-reference.com, 02 May 2021; milenio.com, 10 Jun 2021; infobae.com, 26 Jul 2020)

OLYMPIC GOAL
He says he joined Mexican Baseball League side Toros de Tijuana in 2021 to give himself the chance of competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "In the United States you are not normally allowed to play in these events. That's why I decided with my wife to come to Tijuana, because I won't get another chance. I want to seize the opportunity and represent Mexico with pride and honour." He plans to return to MLB after the 2020 Olympic Games. (milenio.com, 10 Jun 2021)