5:50pm: The Dodgers have now made it official, selecting Brasier with left-hander Bryan Hudson optioned and right-hander Andre Jackson designated for assignment in corresponding moves.
5:30pm: The Dodgers are going to select the contract of right-hander Ryan Brasier, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Corresponding moves will be required to get him onto the active and 40-man rosters.
Brasier, 35, was a late bloomer in major league terms. After a stint in Japan, he had his North American breakout in 2018 at the age of 30. He made 34 appearances for the Red Sox that year with a 1.60 ERA, striking out 23.4% of opponents against a 5.6% walk rate. He carried that over into the postseason with a 1.04 ERA in 8 2/3 frames, helping the Sox win the World Series.
However, his effectiveness slid in recent seasons and his career ERA now sits at 4.45. Things have looked especially bad recently, as he had a 5.78 ERA last year and an even worse mark of 7.29 this year. Those struggles led to him getting released by the Red Sox and signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers. He’s pitched three scoreless innings in Triple-A in the past week.
There are some reasons to suspect that those inflated earned run figures aren’t entirely his fault. His 56.2% strand rate and .335 batting average on balls in play last year were both on the unlucky side of league averages, leading to a 3.61 FIP and 3.12 SIERA that suggest he deserved better. It was a similar story here in 2023, with a .344 BABIP, 52.8% strand rate, 4.37 FIP and 4.58 SIERA. That being said, it’s probably oversimplifying things to simply say that he’s been unlucky. His hard hit rate, which hovered between 35 and 40% for his earlier seasons in Boston, jumped to 46.5% last year and 53% this year.
The Dodgers have faced uncharacteristic struggles on the pitching front this year as the pitching staff as a whole currently has a 4.66 ERA, a mark that places them 25th out of the 30 clubs in the league. The bullpen is an even bigger concern, with the relief corps posting a collective 5.04 ERA on the season, which puts them ahead of only the lowly Athletics in that department.
Those struggles have coincided with each of Daniel Hudson, Jimmy Nelson, Phil Bickford, Tyler Cyr, J.P. Feyereisen, Alex Reyes and Blake Treinen landing on the injured list. Some of that group could soon be available to the big league club again, as each of Hudson, Nelson and Bickford are each joining Triple-A Oklahoma City for rehab assignment, per OKC’s Broadcaster/Communications Director Alex Freeman.
But for now, the club will take a flier on a Brasier bounceback, which is essentially risk-free from a cost perspective. Since the Red Sox released him, they are still on the hook for the majority of what remains of his $2MM salary. The Dodgers will pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Sox pay.
And the dumpster diving begins
Begins????? It started weeks ago
Months, or years.
I don’t mind this craps roll. Maybe he has something left. If not, no big deal can’t be any worse than half their pen
If your a Doger fan of course you wouldn’t mind an occasional excursion into the junk pile waiver wire – It’s only a problem when your roster is depleted & lacks ML quality depth & if the waiver wire replaces what once was a consistently successful roster management strategy. & And dont claim the injury excuse- Every team has injury issues – good planning, scouting & discipline will buffer the reliance on players who cant stay healthy.- Ask the Angels with Rondon, Pujols etc-etc. etc.
Well they have to see what Braiser has before Hudson and Nelson are activated. Evan Phillips was once a dumpster dive
amk – As a Sox fan I was happy to see him go, but I readily admit the Dodgers coaching staff has a much better chance of fixing his issues than Boston’s coaching staff. I wish him the best, except if/when he returns to Fenway in August.
Unfortunately for Dodgers fans, Brasier is unfixable at this point in time. While he still throws 95-97 mph, he loses the strike zone too much and then serves up the dreaded straight ball or the hanging slider and hitters jump all over him. He still has the ability to go 1-2-3 when all of his pitches and his control are crisp, but those outings are few and far between these days. I wish him well but I also feel bad for Dodgers fans when they get their first “Brasier inning”. (3+ runs allowed in a close game).
The good news is that the Dodgers should be able to sign Corey Kluber to be his replacement if Brasier fails. Boston has to DFA Kluber after tonight’s outing. He just doesn’t have it anymore.
FPG!!!! Birthday is Thursday!! Thanks baseball gods for the early present!!! I hope he does well… exactly as you put it… I have rooted for no player who has come back vs Redsox ( this is tough) no matter what team they ended up with( especially Yankees) but WILL root for them vs everyone else( unless a Yankee) please Brais…. Don’t ever sign with them!!
the main highlight i saw was bickford rehabbing for OKC. ca we please just end the Vidal Sassoon experiment that is bickford? dude just sucks and i don’t want to see him ever in Dodger blue. please AF for the love of all that is holy, get rid of him.
It’s not possible to manage a 40 man ML roster like a degenerate sports gaming & gambling addict with a fantasy baseball team..
The Dogers willfully disassembled a highly competitive consistent roster strategy & opted to play played fantasy baseball with the 40 man- Brasier is only one example.
Long term planning balanced rosters with depth sprinkled with a few youngsters, & experienced young vets & a few quality geezers with clubhouse leadership qualities who will set an example for work habits, preparation, culture & mentor the youngsters . Combined with quality & experienced in the field scouting, dugout management & APPROPRIATE use of data & analytics resources to enhance decision making will always result in consistent competitive results with a few championship rings….It’s very hard work & requires a strong up & down commitment & support by all in the decision making string..
Several teams who were known for successfully executing long term roster strategies begun to panic a couple of years ago- Yankees, Cardinals, Dogers & Red Sox are probably the most notable examples of a regressive strategy.
This past offseason was a disaster and the fruits of Friedman’s erroneous ways, are on full display right now. They didn’t address the bullpen or OF and experienced injuries like every team does BUT they lost all the solid depth they been known for.
If I’d said any of this, and I already have, the usual suspects would be chewing on my backside for it. Funny how that works.
Totally get where you’re coming from. In today’s world it’s not what is said but who is saying it in most cases. Case in point: when BOS moved Kluber to the bullpen several weeks ago I commented that Kluber would return to the rotation when Sale punches something out of frustration and breaks his pitching hand. I was crucified for that comment even though others were saying basically the same thing. So Sale hits the IL shortly thereafter, and Kluber takes his spot. Yeah, I got the part about punching something wrong, but at the end of the day I was right. Oh well
Exactly. It’s kind of depressing the number of people who can’t seem to resist resorting to personal attacks. Even in discussions of a game. This has always been a thing, but it’s just gotten much worse recently.
Yeah, I mean other than the manner of injury and the fact the Kluber hasn’t returned to the rotation, spot on about everything.
That fact that Jason Heyward has had to play semi-regularly tells you everything you need to know about the Dodgers 2023 season
And the fact that Thompson crashed and burned after the opening series, and it took an injury to get him out of the mix a few weeks ago. Not even the A’s or Royals would have kept him around into the 2nd week of May. If LAD doesn’t DFA him once he’s activated, the FO might as well just raise the white flag on the season
He’s hitting far better this season than most of his Cubs tenure
Friedman punted on this season as soon as the the Ohtani rumors started, he did basically NOTHING this off-season and you are now seeing the end result!
I don’t see the connection with the Ohtani rumors. What really seems to have happened is they were hoping to sneak under the CBT and by the time they found that wasn’t possible, most of the better free agent selections were off the board.
Did Frank McCourt buy the team again?
Congratulations dodgers on Brais!! He will be Sandy( Duncan) from the right side for you!! Your Bulldog ( with worms) in pressure situations and your Jansen like closer( minus WS 18) down the stretch… seriously I hope he pitches like Mariano for you guys!!( like 04 alcs) versus us in this years WS!!! Best of luck .. he was a favorite of mine!!! Go get em BRAIS!!!
Brazier is going to infect the entire Dodger staff with whatever disease he’s carrying, just like he did to the Red Sox. It’s going to be great to watch as they slide down the standings.
The Babyneck cometh
18 runs in 21 innings, Brasier will fit in great with the other Dodger failures.