The White Sox bullpen is a little less wide open than it used to be, as righty reliever John Brebbia is joining the mix on a one-year contract.
Jon Morosi reported the deal this morning, and Ken Rosenthal relayed the contract terms. Brebbia is guaranteed one year and $5.5 million. He will make $4 million in 2024, with a $6 million mutual option or a $1.5 million buyout. He can also make an additional $1 million through incentives, receiving a $250,000 bonus for reaching 45, 50, 55 and 60 games.
The incentives are there because Brebbia has only been fully healthy in one of the past four seasons. The good news is that it hasn't been the result of anything chronic. He had Tommy John surgery in 2020, which was probably the best year to have it. That cost him most of 2021, and then he missed more than two months of the 2023 season due to a Grade 2 lat strain.
However, he led the league with 76 appearances for the Giants in 2022. Throw in his healthy months from 2023, and he's posted a 3.47 ERA with an appropriate FIP (3.54) over 106⅓ innings the last two years, which is what the White Sox have in mind.
His success isn't the kind that can be described succinctly. In terms of usage, his experience in San Francisco ranged from standard setup work to opening 21 games. With regards to his arsenal, he throws his slider more frequently than his fastball, but it's often used as a setup pitch for his four-seamer, as he'll use the fastball more often in two-strike counts.
His ability to toggle between pitches makes him keeps both lefties and righties off-balance, but his need to work up in the zone makes him susceptible to home runs. He gave up six homers over 38⅓ innings in 2023.
The good news is that the White Sox already have the operation manual, because Brebbia is following Brian Bannister to Chicago. He learned to embrace data while rehabilitating from his UCL repair ...
The Giants signed Brebbia to a one-year contract while he was rehabbing, and in San Francisco, he jumped headfirst into the world of spreadsheets, which fit well with the new direction the coaching staff was taking. Brebbia tracked everything from his throws during bullpen sessions to his sleep scores. Two years later, coaches still joke about Brebbia's love for "spreadies."
"I could be the worst possible person at using Excel or Google spreadsheets," he said, smiling, "But I have so much fun doing it."
... and when Bannister's departure from the Giants was announced, Brebbia was among the many Giants to express dismay.
“That’s why I came here to begin with,” Brebbia said. “Looking around the league, seeing the pitchers who had come in and come out, there’s a distinct advantage to being a Giants pitcher. There are definitely other teams that are good at it. But it was pretty clear the Giants were in the elite level of teams.
“There’s no question Banny is elite at what he does. Up and down, our staff on the pitching side — and that’s all I know because they haven’t worked with me on hitting, which in fairness, probably would be a waste of time — is incredible at what they do. It stinks to lose a guy like that.”
Besides Brebbia's ability, malleability and experience, his general demeanor is one the White Sox might need during a rebuilding year. A 30th-round pick who pitched two seasons in independent ball before making his big-league debut at 27, he approaches the game like a guy who's always seen worse.
"Almost immediately after being drafted, things just went downhill, so I had a good couple of years to cope with never playing baseball again," he said on Thursday's Giants Talk. "So when I finally did get released, I was like, 'Okay, let's play independent ball, let's finish with having some fun.' It sounds strange, but I never went into it with this intense 'I'm going to make it to the Major Leagues' attitude. I just kind of did it because it was fun. And I never wanted to be bad -- I was constantly trying to be the best that I could -- but I was okay if I wasn't and I was okay if I failed.
"I think that was a huge help because I could just enjoy myself, and when I started enjoying myself, things changed drastically. It was fun and I was better, so it was kind of a win-win scenario there."
These days, Brebbia is hardly ever seen without a smile on his face. He even flashes a grin sometimes when Gabe Kapler comes to take him out of a game, asking his manager some variation of, "Are you sure you want to make this move?" But Brebbia says there was a time when he pitched "angry," which didn't at all work for him.
Brebbia and Kapler rubbed some people the wrong way when they had one of their more unusual on-mound interactions on the day the Giants were eliminated from postseason contention. That shouldn't be problem with the Sox, but it could test the bounds of Pedro Grifol's personality.
Regardless of whether their senses of humor mesh, they may only have to coexist for four months. Brebbia's contract is the kind that can be moved if a contender needs bullpen help at the deadline. That's also worth noting because Brebbia starts every year clean-shaven and finishes it with a big, bushy beard, so four months of growth may stay within the White Sox's grooming standards.
Brebbia joins Tim Hill as the veteran additions to a bullpen that still has room for more. Updating our last attempt at forming an eight-man unit after the White Sox announced plans to stretch out Garrett Crochet as a starter, it now looks something like:
- Gregory Santos
- Tim Hill
- John Brebbia
- Tanner Banks
- Jimmy Lambert (out of options)
- Deivi Garcia (out of options)
- Shane Drohan (Rule 5 pick)
- Jordan Leasure
And we'll see what kind of spring training competition arrives in the form of non-roster invitees when the White Sox announce that list later this month.
