London Majors add long-awaited starter for pennant race

Former Baltimore Orioles prospect Luis Perez is expected to make his debut this weekend after visa delays.

The London Majors have added a long-awaited veteran arm in the thick of a historic battle for first place. Dominican Luis Perez, who spent six years in the Baltimore Orioles organization and had been playing in Venezuela during the winter, was supposed to join the club at the start of the Canadian Baseball League season. But visa issues backed up the 30-year-old’s debut for a couple of months.

He was activated Tuesday and is expected to pitch in one of London’s three games this weekend. “We knew going into this we needed a right-handed starter,” Majors co-owner and manager Roop Chanderdat said. “We have three lefties in the rotation (Victor Payano, Travis Keys, Cesilio Pimentel) and teams are stacking all right-handed (hitters) against us.

You’d like to get another look. Luis was always in the plans. It was just a matter of when we were going to get him.

“We’re excited to see him. He has the potential to be a top starter (in the league).” The move comes a couple of weeks before the CBL’s deadline to set final rosters.

The Majors (18-9) scored twice in the ninth inning Tuesday to beat the Brantford Red Sox and keep pace in an epic playoff race. The top five teams qualify for the playoffs. London, Barrie, Welland, Hamilton and Guelph are currently separated by two games or fewer.

“This might be the best we’ve seen in the chase for a playoff spot,” Chanderdat said. “The fourth- and fifth-place teams will play one game to advance, so you don’t want to get caught in that. Because of the standings, every game matters.

You can’t have too long of a slip-up or a bad weekend.” Will the abbreviated playoff format last in the nine-team league? “It’s debatable,” Chanderdat said.

“It’s Year One, so you have to see how it plays out. Do we add a team or not down the road? The jury is still out on that one.”

The rule change increasing the import limit to eight players per team has been a positive step, though the accompanying visa issues have led to some interesting situations. Before the season, London was poised to bring in shortstop Kevin Vicuna, a 28-year-old Venezuelan who came up through the Toronto Blue Jays system with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. “But he had visa issues, too, so it forced us to pivot quickly,” Chanderdat said.

The Majors then targeted Makiol Escotto, a 24-year-old shortstop who leads the league in hits and is tied with teammate Trent Lenihan for the home-run lead with nine. “We were still mulling things over because of Perez,” Chanderdat said, “and it was a possibility we didn’t go to Escotto. But he was a guy in our queue and he’s been tremendous.

Maybe he doesn’t get enough credit (in the field) because he has made some highlight-reel quality plays in the field. “He’s still young, so he could get another crack (at organizational ball).” MAJORS WEEKEND Friday: vs. Chatham, 7:05 p.m. at Labatt Park Saturday

: at Barrie, 4:08 p.m. Sunday: at Hamilton, 4:05 p.m.