M’s call up veteran left-hander Oliver Perez

SEATTLE – Mariners manager Eric Wedge told Oliver Perez to “be ready to pitch at any point in time” after the team called up the veteran left-hander from Triple-A Tacoma before Saturday’s game against San Francisco.

Wedge said the team hasn’t settled on a role for the 30-year-old, but he’ll get a chance to prove he can still pitch at the major-league level.

“He was throwing the ball well in AAA,” Wedge said. “Obviously (he has) a lot of big-league experience, a high strikeout ratio from the left side. We felt like it was a good time to take a look at him.”

To make room for Perez the team optioned reliever Steve Delabar to Tacoma. Outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang was designated for assignment.

Perez, whose last major-league appearance was with the New York Mets on Oct. 3, 2010, signed a minor-league deal with the Mariners in January and was 2-2 with a save and a 4.65 earned-run average in 22 minor-league relief appearances for the Rainiers this season.

After spending the 2011 season with Double-A Harrisburg in the Washington Nationals’ minor-league system, Perez said he considered retiring before finding his fastball in the Mexican Winter League.