PHILADELPHIA — On Sunday, teams could add two players to their active roster — one pitcher and one position player.
The Braves added outfielder Eli White, which made sense. Their second move was a surprise.
They selected the contract of right-hander reliever John Brebbia, who was released by the White Sox on Thursday before signing a minor-league deal with Atlanta. (To make room on the 40-man roster for Brebbia, the Braves designated left-hander Zach Logue for assignment.)
Until the Braves announced they’d added the 34-year-old Brebbia, it wasn’t known that they’d even signed him. But in him, they get someone who has had a really solid major-league career since debuting in 2017 for the Cardinals. And they officially signed him to that minor-league deal on Saturday, which means they met the Aug. 31 deadline for him to be eligible for the postseason.
Before the Braves brought in Brebbia, it seemed Daysbel Hernández might be the reliever they’d add on Sunday. Hernández is the next reliever up, but the Braves went with Brebbia for a few reasons.
First, this should tell you something: After Brebbia was released, multiple teams contending for the postseason had interest in him. All planned to add him to their big-league rosters.
“It’s nice,” Brebbia said before Sunday’s game about the interest he received. “”It’s nice (for teams to want) to have you on their team. Hopefully that tells you you’re doing something right, and hopefully that tells you that you have earned and you deserve to wear a jersey – even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. The more, the merrier, right? That’s generally a good sign.”
Brebbia has a major-league track record. Similar to, say, Ramón Laureano and Whit Merrifield, he signed a good contract over the offseason – Brebbia inked a one-year deal worth $5.5 million with the White Sox. This shows you that he had value for a reliever. He also has a track record and has proven he can do it at the highest level.
The White Sox released him, so they’re paying the remainder of his salary. The Braves will only owe Brebbia a prorated portion of the $740,000 minimum for the time he’s in the majors with them.
Thus, there’s only upside here. It was worth a shot. There’s no risk.
Over 348-1/3 innings in the majors, Brebbia has a 3.82 ERA. He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in five of the six seasons in which he’s logged at least 35 innings. His track record shows he throws strikes and gets swing and miss.
This season, he posted a 6.29 ERA for Chicago. But he was used heavily earlier in the season. He threw 13-1/2 innings alone in June, which is almost 90 innings if prorated over a full season. He’s allowed a career-high nine homers over 48-2/3 innings.
“Sometimes faith can move mountains, sometimes you’re supposed to climb – and it was just a lot of climbing this year,” Brebbia said.
He was asked about some of the metrics being similar to previous seasons but the results being worse.
“Largely, there were some underlying things that looked fairly consistent with career stuff, so that’s nice. But the name of the game is to not let people score runs,” Brebbia said. “Even if everything looked better than it always does, if I’m still giving up runs, there’s a part of me that’s like, ‘Oof, just gotta fix something.’ It’s a double-edged sword, I guess. It’s comforting and frustrating all at the same time.”
Signing, and promoting, Brebbia is also smart for depth reasons. The Braves have endured tons of injuries, including losing A.J. Minter for the season after he underwent surgery on his left hip. With a month left to play, the Braves still could have other injuries, so bringing in Brebbia gives them added depth because they still have Hernández at Triple-A Gwinnett if they need him.
And maybe Brebbia won’t look good. If that’s the case, the Braves can opt for Hernández whenever they want. But with the White Sox paying Brebbia, perhaps the Braves will look smart again.
The Guardians are paying Laureano $5 million. The Phillies are paying Merrifield $8 million. Both have helped the Braves survive, and even thrive, during all these injuries.
Perhaps Brebbia will be the next to make an impact.
“Well, I hope I don’t have to put that many of them to work again, next year or whatever,” Snitker said, laughing, when talking about the guys released by other teams.
Then he added: “No, it gets (us) another veteran guy that’s a big leaguer.”
As for White: His inclusion in the September additions wasn’t surprising. On Thursday, Braves manager Brian Snitker said the club would likely choose a versatile player with speed. White features speed and defense, so he’s right in line with the description. The Braves can use him as a defensive replacement, pinch-runner or pinch-hitter against lefties.
The Braves will see how Brebbia does for them.
“It’s a nice experienced guy to get,” Snitker said.
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