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Cubs Release Brad Brach

By Jeff Todd | August 5, 2019 at 8:55pm CDT

The Cubs announced today that reliever Brad Brach has cleared waivers and been released. He was designated for assignment recently.

Brach’s complicated, restructured contract was never likely to be claimed. The Chicago organization will remain responsible for all ongoing guarantees, less a pro-rated portion of the league minimum salary for any time he spends in the majors with another club.

It seemed at the time that the Cubs made out well by landing Brach for such a reasonable price. But he just never found his groove in Wrigley, scuffling to a 6.13 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 6.4 BB/9 over 39 2/3 innings.

Interestingly, the bulge in Brach’s walk rate occurred even as he put his first pitches in the zone more than ever (63.5%). His average fastball velocity (94.2 mph) and swinging-strike rate (11.9%) sat near recent levels. Statcast calculates an unwelcome 39.3% hard-hit rate, though that can presumably be reversed if indeed Brach’s physical tools are intact.

All things considered, Brach ought to hold appeal as a bounceback candidate to quite a few contending teams. It’s possible he’ll end up taking a minors deal to work out the kinks at Triple-A, but it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see Brach sign directly onto a big league roster.

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Chicago Cubs Brad Brach

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26 Comments

  1. DarkSide830

    6 years ago

    Klentak get em

    1
    Reply
  2. Yankeedynasty

    6 years ago

    No one wants that garbage

    Reply
    • GareBear

      6 years ago

      Want to put money on that?

      Reply
  3. chicagosportsfan1

    6 years ago

    we should of at least traded him

    Reply
    • tim815

      6 years ago

      Someone would have had to want him, first.

      4
      Reply
    • howiehandles

      6 years ago

      If they won’t pick him up when he’s DFA’d, no one is trading for him.

      Reply
  4. MiserablePadreFan

    6 years ago

    Come home to San Diego!

    Reply
  5. Bruin1012

    6 years ago

    He can step right into Red Sox bullpen.

    Reply
    • dvail1979

      6 years ago

      He can probably close in the Red Sox pen lol

      Reply
    • Jeff Zanghi

      6 years ago

      I agree… I’d like to see the Sox bring him in. He’s already got ample experience in the AL East and his stuff looked to still be the same in CHI so maybe a change of scenery could be enough to get him back on track! No matter what he’s better than some of the guys the Sox are trotting out their in relief so it’s worth taking a chance on him at least!

      1
      Reply
      • Ashtem

        6 years ago

        Might as well sign Cody Allen

        Reply
        • Seaver rules

          6 years ago

          Surprised that Mickey Callaway hasn’t asked BVW to sign Allen n Brach so he could fix them. He’s done succch a great job with Diaz n Familia.

          Reply
  6. bpflyers1

    6 years ago

    Hello Klentak! Go get him Matt!

    1
    Reply
  7. ChiSoxCity

    6 years ago

    Brach hasn’t thrown a strike in three years… he’s useless.

    Reply
    • SocoComfort

      6 years ago

      Yea he just had a 1.52 ERA as a Brave last year.

      2
      Reply
      • howiehandles

        6 years ago

        And last season helps this one.

        Reply
    • warren r.

      6 years ago

      According to Fangraphs Brad Brach has thrown 1,968 strikes out of 3,114 pitches since the beginning of the 2017 season.

      Reply
  8. themed

    6 years ago

    The cubs. Luckiest team in baseball! It’s gonna stop soon. Mark my words. They ain’t that good.

    Reply
    • chitown311

      6 years ago

      But they’ll keep spending to bandage the gushing wounds

      Reply
      • ABCD

        6 years ago

        Now get back in the desalination tank!

        Reply
    • howiehandles

      6 years ago

      Yeah, an internet boast. “Soon”.

      Reply
  9. Brandon Hawkins

    6 years ago

    Most of these trades are looking good now. Dont get me wrong, I loved Gausman, Brach, Schoop, and especially O’day. But none are coming back to bite us really. For 2 seconds, Gausman looked like another Arrieta situation, but now he’s a waiver claim. Brach had it going for a few years. One of the anchors of our amazing ‘pen at one point. Now he’s a free agent. We may not have gotten any ‘elite’ prospects, but at least 2 or 3 of them should work out better than what we traded away. Crazy part about Brach is the fact that he was exceedingly good in Camden, a very hitters friendly park.

    Reply
  10. nentwigs

    6 years ago

    Brach is going into his families candy business.

    Reply
  11. skip tracey

    6 years ago

    hope he’s not coming brach to ATL. That bullpen doesn’t need someone new to help them give away games. I know it’s too early to be throwing shade but it seems semi appropriate.

    Reply
  12. vacommish

    6 years ago

    Braves should take a chance on him. No doubt he’ll land with a contender in short order.

    Reply
  13. dad

    6 years ago

    Cardinals dumpster diving as we speak

    Reply

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