Chris Perez (oblique) retired three batters Saturday in a minor league exhibition game.

Perez needed only seven pitches to get through his one inning of work. The 26-year-old right-hander should be cleared to make his Cactus League debut next week, and is expected to be fully ready by Opening Day. He's a solid fantasy option at closer.

Updating a previous item, Chris Perez (oblique) will pitch in a minor league game Saturday.

Perez is ready for game action, but the Indians want to test him against lesser competition before throwing him into a Cactus League game. The team has already mapped out a plan to have him ready for the start of the season.

Chris Perez (oblique) threw 20 pitches of live batting practice Wednesday in Indians camp.

Perez was able to feature both his fastball and slider, and reported no issues with his left oblique. The 26-year-old closer should be cleared to make his Cactus League debut Friday and has ample time to get properly geared up by Opening Day.

Chris Perez (oblique) is scheduled to throw live batting practice Wednesday.

Perez is ahead of schedule after suffering a strained left oblique early in Indians' camp. Barring any setbacks Wednesday, he should make his Cactus League debut Friday. The Indians hope to get him six or seven appearances before the start of the season, so he may end up getting some work in on the minor league side.

Chris Perez (oblique) threw a bullpen session Sunday and is scheduled to face hitters later this week.

Perez threw a bullpen session Friday for the first time since suffering a strained left oblique on February 24. Barring any setbacks, he's expected to make his Cactus League debut on Friday. Perez has had a quicker-than-expected comeback and should be ready for the beginning of the season.

Chris Perez (oblique) is scheduled to throw another bullpen session Sunday.

Perez threw a bullpen session Friday for the first time since suffering a strained left oblique on February 24. Barring any setbacks over the weekend, he's expected to pitch live batting practice on Tuesday and make his Cactus League debut next Friday. There's still a chance he'll be ready for Opening Day.

Chris Perez (oblique) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday.

Perez was given the go-ahead after throwing long-toss from a distance of 150 feet on Wednesday with no issues. He told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com that he is on pace to make five or six outings this spring, which would give him enough work to be ready for Opening Day.

Chris Perez (oblique) is planning to play long-toss from a distance of 150 feet on Wednesday.

If that goes well, it won't be long before Perez is cleared for mound work. He suffered an oblique strain while throwing his first bullpen session of the spring and was originally prescribed a recovery timetable of 4-6 weeks. But he's currently ahead of that pace and could be ready for Opening Day if the progress continues.

Chris Perez (oblique) long-tossed from 105 feet Saturday and will likely be cleared to resume throwing off a mound this week.

"I feel good," Perez said. "Right now, everything is based on how I'm feeling each day and I'm feeling really good." Perez will expand his long-toss to 120 feet either Sunday or Monday, and if that goes well, he'll then be cleared to throw from a mound. There's no timetable yet for his return to game action, but if he keeps progressing the way he has recently, there's a good chance he'll be ready by Opening Day.

Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com writes that the Indians believe Chris Perez (oblique) still has a chance of being ready for Opening Day.

Perez is gradually increasing the distance of his throwing after straining his left oblique late last month. Initial reports had him missing 4-6 weeks, so there's still a chance he could be ready if he doesn't run into any setbacks. Vinnie Pestano would be the likely candidate for saves if Perez needs extra recovery time.

Chris Perez (oblique) played catch Wednesday from a distance of 75 feet.

Chris Perez (oblique) made 45 throws from a distance of 60 feet Tuesday in Indians camp.

It was Perez's first game of catch since he strained his left oblique in late February. Initial reports had him returning within a 4-6 week timetable. If he's on the shorter end of that, the 26-year-old right-hander could be ready for Opening Day.

Chris Perez (oblique) is hoping to resume throwing on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The closer thinks he'll be ready to throw off a mound a week after that. Perez appears to be recovering ahead of schedule, as he was injured a week ago and given a 4-6 week timetable to return. The 26-year-old is hoping to pitch in games by March 15 and is confident he'll be ready for the start of the season. It's still early, but his progress to this point has been encouraging.

Chris Perez (oblique) is hoping to resume throwing sometime next week.

Perez seems to be progressing well, but he might be overly optimistic given that a 4-6 week timetable for his recovery was set at the beginning of this week. The closer is confident he'll be ready for the start of the season, and the Indians aren't ruling it out, but it's still early in the recovery process.

Chris Perez (oblique) said his goal is to make it back by March 15 and he should be good to go for Opening Day.

Since he's been given a 4-6 week timetable, the closer is being optimistic here. Perez injured his left oblique during a bullpen session when he went full-out a little too soon rather than easing himself into things. The smart money would probably be on him starting the season on the DL, with Vinnie Pestano the likeliest candidate to handle the ninth inning work.

Chris Perez is currently sidelined with "unspecified soreness."

Head trainer Lonnie Soloff is expected to talk to the media later Sunday, so we should be able to get a better handle on Perez's condition then. The 26-year-old closer posted a 3.32 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 59 2/3 innings last season while converting 36-of-40 save opportunities for the Tribe.

Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports that the Indians will listen to offers for closer Chris Perez.

Bastian cautions, though, that the market "likely is not there this winter." Perez is under team control for three more years and is coming off an All-Star season, so the Tribe would probably ask for quite a bit in return in any deal. The Indians don't have much money to spend this season but seem to have a right-handed hitter at the top of their list.

Chris Perez nailed down his 34th save Sunday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in a one-run win over the Twins.

Perez allowed a hit and struck out a batter to help Cleveland complete a sweep of Minnesota. It was a nice bounce-back performance from the closer, who had allowed six earned runs over his previous two appearances. Prior to those implosions, Perez hadn't surrendered an earned run in his last 14 outings.

Chris Perez converted a nail-biting save Friday, giving up two runs before stranding the tying run at first base with a strikeout to end the game.

This marks Perez's second straight shaky outing, as he was battered for four runs in a non-save situation last week. Prior to that, he hadn't surrendered an earned run in his previous 14 outings. He's nailed down 33 of 37 save chances this year.

Chris Perez lost his sixth game of the season on Monday, giving up an unearned, game-winning run to the Mariners in a non-save situation.

Perez seriously lacked control in this one. Facing Seattle's 7-8-9 hitters in a tie game, he hit the first two batters and then dropped Trayvon Robinson's sacrifice bunt to load the bases. Franklin Gutierrez's one-out sacrifice fly turned out to be the game winner. A tough loss for Cleveland's closer, who has yielded no earned runs and only one hit in his last seven appearances.