Nats need Perez to be more consistently effective in 2017

As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Oliver Perez, who had an erratic first season in the Nats bullpen.

PLAYER REVIEW: OLIVER PEREZ

Age on opening day 2017: 35

How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2015

MLB service time: 12 years, 144 days

2016 salary: $3 million

Contract status: Signed for $4 million in 2017, free agent in 2018

2016 stats: 2-3, 4.95 ERA, 64 G, 0 SV, 1 BS, 40 IP, 38 H, 22 R, 22 ER, 4 HR, 20 BB, 46 SO, 7 HBP, 1.450 WHIP, 0.1 WAR

Quotable: "I've already been a reliever for four years. And I had eight years as a starter. I want to get to eight years as a reliever and then try to figure out which one I was better at." - Oliver Perez, talking this spring about his mid-career conversion from starter to reliever

2016 analysis: The Nationals signed Oliver Perez to a two-year contract over the winter, expecting the veteran left-hander to become a key specialist out of their bullpen. Trouble is, he wound up being used for longer stints on a regular basis and couldn't consistently get batters out from either side of the plate.

Perez was modestly effective against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .233 batting average and .720 OPS over 102 plate appearances. But he wasn't effective at all against righties, who hit .269 with a .388 on-base percentage and .790 OPS over 80 plate appearances.

The veteran reliever did have his moments sprinkled throughout the season; he held a sub-3.00 ERA as late as June 7. And he did not surrender a run in any of his last 11 appearances, though it should be noted that in seven of those outings he faced only one batter.

In the end, Perez was pretty much what he's been throughout his long career: a sometimes-effective left-hander who strikes out a healthy number of batters but also walks a bunch of them and battles through prolonged stretches of ineffective performances.

2017 outlook: The Nationals gave Perez a two-year deal, so he's assured of returning next season. It'll be up to Dusty Baker to figure out the best way to utilize him, and then up to the pitcher to deliver on a more consistent basis.

The emergence of Sammy Solis as a force against batters from both sides of the plate could help allow Perez to be utilized as a true matchup guy, the role he was most successful in this year.

But there are still going to be times over the course of a 162-game season when Baker is going to have to ask Perez to be more than that, to navigate his way through an entire inning (or perhaps more). The Nats will have to hold out hope Perez can be effective enough on a regular basis to be a more productive contributor in his second season with the club.