CLEVELAND -- Francisco Perez couldn’t hold back his tears when he got the news.

On Sunday night, the 24-year-old lefty was told that he was getting his first callup to the Major Leagues. Without hesitation, he picked up his phone to call his mom to tell her the news, and both were brought to tears.

“I didn't even know I was going to get called,” Perez said. “I was putting up good numbers [in Triple-A]. So I was hoping this year I would get an opportunity.”

That opportunity came on Monday when he was added to Cleveland's active roster after first baseman Bobby Bradley was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left knee contusion. When Perez eventually works his way into a Major League game, he will become the ninth member of the Indians to make their debut this season.

Cleveland is familiar with this process, and it knew coming into the year that it would need to learn a lot about its Minor League talent, while continuing to develop these young players at the Major League level. But fans may not be as familiar with Perez, as he’s flown under the radar. This year, he’s made his name known throughout the organization after a stellar 1.19 ERA in 23 games between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus with 71 strikeouts in 45 1/3 frames.

Let’s take a deeper look at what he can bring to the table:

Who is Perez?
Perez has been in the Indians’ system for seven seasons. He began his professional career as a starter and eventually made the transition to reliever over the last two seasons (not counting 2020, since there was no Minor League season). The 6-foot-2, 215-pound southpaw from the Dominican Republic had Cleveland excited early in his career, but his playing time was cut down as his time in the Minors progressed due to injuries, especially in ’19. He returned in 2021 ready to prove he can make his way to the show by getting in extra work in the Dominican Winter League, and he has been dominant in the Minors this season.

In 11 appearances with Akron, Perez pitched to a 0.67 ERA while holding opponents to a .091 average. He was promoted to Columbus on June 20, and he’s since posted a 1.96 ERA with 25 strikeouts and 12 walks in 18 1/3 innings.

“Long and short of it is he’s a guy that was on the scene, kind of got off the scene and came back to the scene,” assistant general manager Carter Hawkins said, “and I’m really excited to see what he can do in the big leagues.”

A look at his arsenal
According to Hawkins, Perez boasts an above-average fastball that sits 93-95 mph. He also has a slider and a curveball that he frequently turns to, and he has a changeup that’s been effective against right-handed hitters. Overall, he’s owned a 1.42 ERA against lefties, while posting a 0.00 ERA against righties this season.

Starter to reliever
This year is the first season that Perez is strictly a reliever. He spent his first five seasons as a starter and began the 2021 season as a long-relief option in Double-A. But once he was promoted to Triple-A, he settled into a traditional relief role and the Indians continued to see an uptick in his stuff.

“The biggest difference is as a reliever, you've got to come and do what you have to do,” Perez said. “Attack right away, be really aggressive and be sharp.”

What’s made him work this year?
Perez explained what he thought has worked this season on Monday: “To be honest, when I'm pitching, I just put it in my mind to go and fight, go and get them. Just attack the strike zone.”

Why now?
If the Indians had not added Perez to the 40-man roster, he would have become a Minor League free agent at the end of the season due to spending seven years in the club’s system. And because of the 40-man roster flexibility the team now has after the trades that were made at the Deadline, Cleveland is taking its chance to see some of its talent and determine who deserves a spot on the 40-man long-term.

“It’s given us an opportunity to look at some of the guys like Francisco,” Hawkins said, “and hopefully that helps our decision-making process going forward.”