The Braves made a number of roster changes Thursday morning, including signing veteran right-hander John Brebbia.
To create place for the pitcher on the 40-man roster, Atlanta designated southpaw Zach Logue for assignment. Outfielder Eli White was also promoted to the major leagues, and he, along with Brebbia, will fill the two roster spots created by today’s roster expansion from 26 to 28. Brebbia was released by the White Sox on Friday and appears to have signed with the Braves on a minor league deal, although the move was not known prior to Atlanta’s statement this morning.
Brebbia, 34, inked a $5.5 million guarantee with Chicago during the offseason. The pairing did not work out, as after a solid first month with the club, the right-hander’s ERA skyrocketed to 10.50 in May. While Brebbia’s stats improved from there, he remained a well-below-average reliever throughout the summer, with a 5.40 ERA in 30 innings of work since the calendar turned to June. Having said that, Brebbia’s peripherals provide some hope, especially after the dismal month of May.
Looking at his overall season statistics, Brebbia has struck out 26.9% of hitters while walking 7.9% of opponents. That high strikeout percentage has helped him post a 3.40 SIERA this year, putting him in line with well-known late-inning arms like Ryan Pressly (3.39 SIERA) and Carlos Estevez. It’s not difficult to see why sophisticated analytics believe Brebbia’s underlying performance has been stronger than the outcomes would indicate. The right-hander’s.333 BABIP is far higher than his average, and his 64% strand rate is startlingly low. Some of this can be attributed to Brebbia’s 14.8% home run rate on fly balls.
If Brebbia’s home run percentage returns to normal down the stretch, the veteran might be a key addition to the Atlanta bullpen as they attempt to secure a postseason position.
Logue, who spent the whole 2024 season with Atlanta’s minor league affiliates, will make room on the club’s 40-man roster for Brebbia. The southpaw has had a solid year in the minors, with a 2.68 ERA and a 23.5% strikeout rate in 90 2/3 innings split between the rotation and bullpen in Gwinnett. Logue’s impressive results this year are somewhat undermined by his previous performance in the majors, as the southpaw has a 6.88 ERA and 5.72 FIP in 68 innings of big league work for the A’s and Tigers since making his big league debut with Oakland in 2022.
Even so, a club may be interested in Logue on the waiver wire as a versatile depth option who throws from the left side, though any team that takes Logue will be unable to roster him for the postseason.
As for White, the 30-year-old was acquired from the Rangers in a cash deal during the 2022-23 offseason and after struggling in a brief cup of coffee with Atlanta this year looked solid in limited playing time with the club this year. In 15 games with the Braves this season, White owns a .261/.261/.522 slash line to go with a .294/.388/.447 line at the Triple-A level. White figures to provide the club with another depth option behind their current outfield mix of Michael Harris II, Jorge Soler, Jarred Kelenic, Ramon Laureano, and Adam Duvall.