Just over a year removed from Tommy John surgery, John Brebbia is back in the majors, as the Giants announced that the right-hander has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Left-hander Conner Menez was optioned to Triple-A after yesterday’s game to open a spot on San Francisco’s active roster, while righty Aaron Sanchez was moved to the 60-day IL to create room for Brebbia on the 40-man roster.
Brebbia’s TJ procedure took place on June 3, 2020, so he has returned to action quicker than expected considering the normal 13-to-15 month recovery period. Brebbia hasn’t pitched in a big league game since he threw two-thirds of an inning for the Cardinals in Game 3 of the 2019 NLCS against the Nationals.
The Cards decided to non-tender Brebbia in December rather than pay a projected $800K in Brebbia’s first year of arbitration eligibility, and the Giants stepped in to sign the righty for a one-year deal worth $800K in guaranteed money. Since Brebbia is arb-controlled through the 2023 season, the Giants rolled the dice on a long-term investment in a reliever who looked good over his first three MLB seasons.
Originally a 30th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2011 draft, Brebbia played in the minors and in the independent leagues before St. Louis selected him away from the Diamondbacks in the minor league version of 2015 Rule 5 Draft. That ended up being a tremendous pick for the Cardinals, as Brebbia posted a 3.14 ERA/3.61 SIERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, and 7.5% walk rate over 175 relief innings from 2017-19.
Sanchez has already been on the injured list since May 8 due to biceps inflammation, but the shift to the 60-day IL is a discouraging sign considering that he was already on a minor league rehab assignment. The other troubling aspect is that the biceps injury may no longer be Sanchez’s chief concern, as he left his most recent outing after only 50 pitches due to a blister on his throwing hand. Blister problems in 2017 were the first of many injuries that have sidetracked Sanchez’s career over the last four-plus years, though it appeared he was putting things together after signing with the Giants in the offseason. Sanchez had a 3.18 ERA/4.26 SIERA over 28 1/3 innings before his biceps problem surfaced.
I’ve always found Brebbia to be quite underrated, and his name is rather fun to say.
Really could be a great deal for the G’s and make STL look really cheap and shortsighted.
Was pretty solid for us, wish we had kept him. Hoping he succeeds in SF
I was wondering why the Cards let him go. It made absolutely no sense to me, considering he still wasn’t making much.
Since you can’t stash guys on the IL over the winter, the Cardinals needed the roster space for free agents, trades, and Rule 5 protections.
I do wish that the new CBA allows for players who finished the season on the 60-day IL to continue through the offseason on it. There could be simple rules;
-Each team gets 3 injury protections. They don’t count against the 40-man roster during the winter.
-They must have been on the 60-day IL during the last game of the regular season. No additions made during the offseason.
-Allow for players to appeal IL manipulation.
This will protect teams from having to drop guys like John Brebbia because of a roster crunch.
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Recovery is completed once he appears in a game.
He appeared today and threw a scoreless inning
That was pretty speedy then. Fever Pitch Guy clearly has a hotline to higher powers.
Damn this splintered clavicle….
Imagine if you couldn’t do your job for years because you got a blister and still got paid.
I mean he’s not on a long term deal. Based on his effectiveness and talent, he is earning dozens of millions dollars less due in part to time lost because of that blister
Still upset the Cardinals non-tendered him. And it still doesn’t really make much sense.
Aaron Sanchez injured? One of the few guarantees in life.
6 Sherfy/Alvarez
7 Leone/Garcia
8 Brebbia/Littell
9 Rogers/McGee
Somehow Aaron Sanchez is still 28. He’ll get another chance if he wants it.
With his arm he’ll get as many chances as he wants. But it might make sense for him to commit to a late inning reliever role.
I could see that working.
Sanchez on the 60 day IL is great for the Giants. Stash him there, let his blister heal, build up arm strength and call him up when needed. When healthy Sanchez is dirty.
If Brebbia can do what he did in St. Louis, it’ll ease the necessity for the Giants to give up assets at the trade deadline for a reliever.
FWIW, I still think they should, but it lessens the need quite a bit.
There was a fun moment when John Kruk couldn’t tell that Connor Mennez and Zach Littel had switched places on the mound. I didn’t feel so alone.
I mean, at the very least, one is left-handed, the other right-handed. That should give you somewhat of a clue…
Oh I am not going to argue that either Kruk or I have a clue.