CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox have added Martín Pérez to their rotation, agreeing to a one-year contract with the left-hander, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical.
The 33-year-old Pérez played for Pittsburgh and San Diego last season, going 5-6 with a 4.53 ERA in 26 starts. He is 90-87 with a 4.44 ERA in 314 major league appearances, including 269 starts.
Pérez was on the injured list with a left groin strain from May 28 to June 28. He pitched six scoreless innings in his final start for Pittsburgh before he was traded to San Diego on July 30 for a minor league pitcher.
He finished strongly for the Padres, going 3-1 with a 3.46 ERA in his last 10 starts. He did not pitch in the postseason for San Diego, which was eliminated by the Dodgers in an NL Division Series.
Chicago is looking to rebound from a terrible 2024. The White Sox went 41-121, setting a post-1900 major league record for losses in a season.
Infielder Josh Rojas finalized a $3.5 million, one-year contract with the White Sox on Wednesday, and infielder Jake Amaya was designated for assignment.
The 30-year-old Rojas hit .225 with eight homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals in 143 games with Seattle last season. He was non-tendered by the Mariners in November.
The White Sox also announced outfielder Corey Julks cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Charlotte, and infielder Braden Shewmake was claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals.
Pérez made his major league debut with Texas in 2012 and helped the Rangers win the 2023 World Series. He was an AL All-Star in 2022, when he went 12-8 with a 2.89 ERA in 32 starts in the first year of his second stint with Texas.
Pérez finalized an $8 million, one-year contract with Pittsburgh in January.
Julks was designated for assignment when Chicago acquired reliever Cam Booser in a trade with Boston on Saturday. Shewmake was designated for assignment after the White Sox added left-hander Tyler Gilbert in a trade with the Phillies on Jan. 1.
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FILE - The then San Diego Padres starting pitcher Martin Perez throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Some 1.8 million mostly barefoot Catholic worshippers marched Thursday in an annual procession in the Philippines that venerates a centuries-old black statue of Jesus. Some said they prayed for good health for their families, an end to tensions in the South China Sea, and for incoming U.S. President Donald Trump to be kinder to Filipino immigrants.
The procession marks the feast of Jesus Nazareno and is a major annual Catholic event in Asia. The image was previously called the Black Nazarene, but church officials appealed for a change, saying the former name was not founded in history and evoked a racial slur.
The procession in Manila began before dawn, with organizers estimating the early crowd at around 250,000. Their number swelled later in the day as devotees made their way to the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno, also known as Quiapo Church.
Police said the crowd reached 1.8 million in the afternoon and the number was still expected to increase. Last year, at least 2 million devotees joined the 15-hour procession, with some estimates of the crowd as high as over 6 million.
Reverend Father Robert Arellano, a spokesperson of Quiapo Church, said this year’s procession is slower compared to last year because of an increase in the number of participants and some jostling devotees climbing the glass-covered carriage housing the image.
Shouts of “Viva, viva,” rang out as the image passes by, with devotees clutching at ropes pulling the carriage and raising white towels in jubilation. The procession typically draws massive numbers of largely poor Catholics who pray for the sick and a better life.
Gaspar Espinocilla, a 56-year-old Manila city employee and a devotee of Jesus Nazareno for the last 20 years, said he is praying for his family, including his sister who has ovarian cancer. He is also praying for an end to tensions in the West Philippines Sea, a part of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines, where China has been harassing Filipino fishermen and coast guard vessels.
“I hope China will ease up on us, they cannot seize everything as theirs,” said Gaspar, who was wearing a maroon T-shirt printed with face of Jesus Nazareno. “It is ours, not theirs.”
Renato Reyes, a garbage scavenger who has been a Jesus Nazareno devotee for more than three decades, said he prays for a better life for his family, for the Philippines to be free from calamities, as well as for wars overseas to end. He also said he will include in his prayers Filipinos who may be affected by Trump’s planned mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
“I hope they will not implement that because our countrymen are there just to earn a living for their families,” he added.
Officials said some 14,000 police and plainclothes officers were deployed, along with soldiers, fire fighters, prison staff and volunteers. Many nearby roads were closed and cell phone signals were blocked.
More than a dozen devotees were seen being carried away on stretchers. The Philippine Red Cross said that 467 people were given first aid or other medical assistance for mostly minor complaints like dizziness, difficulty breathing and nausea. At least 15 patients had to be brought to hospital.
The statue of Jesus carrying the cross was brought to the Philippines from Mexico on a galleon in 1606 by Spanish missionaries. The ship that carried it caught fire, but the charred statue survived, according to some accounts. Church historians, however, said the statue’s color owes to the fact that it was carved out of mesquite wood, which darkens as it ages.
Many devotees believe the statue’s endurance, from fires and earthquakes through the centuries and intense bombings during World War II, is a testament to its miraculous power
Devotees try to climb on a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees try to climb on a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees try to touch the image of Jesus Nazareno inside a glass-covered carriage during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees grab the rope as they pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees grab the rope as they pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees grab the rope as they pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees climb on a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees raise their hands as they join the annual procession of Jesus Nazareno in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees raise their hands as they join the annual procession of Jesus Nazareno in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Devotees pull a glass-covered carriage carrying the image of Jesus Nazareno during its annual procession in Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)