Brad Brach spent most of the past decade as one of baseball’s most reliable relievers. After he struggled with the Chicago Cubs, the New York Mets were desperate for his services and gave him a chance to regain his All-Star form. It was always Brach dream to play for the Mets, and he lived it out in 2019.
A #Mets fan growing up, Brad Brach is excited to stay with the orange and blue. pic.twitter.com/5ytV9kmKvB
— New York Mets (@Mets) December 9, 2019
Brach arrived with the Mets on August 8 after the Chicago Cubs released him. He was in the middle of the worst season of his career. Brach’s ERA was over five, and his walk rate was higher than expected. The move was very underrated because the Mets signed a reliever with past success for virtually nothing.
Home Sweet Home
Brach’s mostly pitched in middle relief but regained the effectiveness he lacked throughout the year. During his 16 outings, he had a 3.68 ERA and only walked three batters. Right-handed batters were only hitting .211 against him. The arm was an addition after Robert Gsellman went to the Injured List.
I think the Brad Brach signing (at <$1M) has a chance to really pay off for the #Mets.
With the Cubs last year, he threw his cutter 1.2% of the time (9/779 pitches).
When he came to the Mets, that rate exploded to 32.1% (70/218 pitches) and it was by far his best offering: pic.twitter.com/vAzcJTtTZy
— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) December 6, 2019
Brach regained the deceptiveness he ones had with his slider/cutter combination that was underutilized with the Cubs. His unique delivery continued to create very uncomfortable at-bats for right-handed hitters. Lefties were hitting over .400 vs. Brach, and that number certainly has to go down for him to be an asset in 2020.
Brach resigned with the Mets on a one-year/ $850 k deal to help deepen the Mets bullpen. People forget how nasty he was just a couple years ago. If he can continue the success he had in 2019, the Mets bullpen will be a force to be reckoned with in 2020.
Grades:
Pitching Repertoire: B+, His fastball sits around 93, but his slider and change-up still have the same nasty movement. His cutter also came on as a beneficial pitch.
Control: A+, The control issues which existed in Chicago, completely disappeared.
Composure: A, Solid job when he needed to get outs in big spots.
Intangibles: A
Overall: B+, He went above the Mets expectations from day one.