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Ryan Brasier

Dodgers Designate Andre Jackson For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced they’ve designated right-hander Andre Jackson for assignment. His 40-man roster spot will go to righty Ryan Brasier, whose promotion was reported earlier. Left-hander Bryan Hudson was optioned to open a spot for Brasier on the active roster.

Jackson has spent his entire career in the L.A. organization. Originally selected in the 12th round of the 2017 draft, he made it onto the 40-man roster after the 2020 campaign. Jackson debuted the following summer and has bounced on and off the active roster for the past three seasons.

He’s worked in multi-inning relief at the big league level, tossing 39 frames over 14 outings. A personal-high 17 2/3 of those innings have come this season. Jackson has allowed 13 runs in that limited look, thanks largely to five homers. The longball has largely overshadowed a quality 16:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

A starter for the bulk of his minor league tenure, Jackson has also worked in long relief in Triple-A this season. He’s logged 27 2/3 innings across 11 outings, pitching to a 5.86 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He has a quality 25.8% strikeout rate at the top minor league level, but he’s walked over 14% of batters faced there. Strike-throwing has been the question throughout his career, as Jackson has handed out free passes at a 12.7% clip over five minor league seasons.

The 6’3″ righty clearly has intriguing raw stuff, though. He’s punched out over a quarter of opponents in the minors. His fastball sat north of 95 MPH on average during his MLB time this season, while prospect evaluators have long praised his changeup. He seems likely to draw some interest via minor trade or on the waiver wire within the next week. Jackson is in his final minor league option season, so an acquiring team could keep him in Triple-A for the remainder of the year.

Dodgers Select Ryan Brasier

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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.

Dodgers Sign Ryan Brasier To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have signed former Red Sox righty Ryan Brasier to a minor league contract, Brasier himself confirmed to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Boston designated the struggling right-hander for assignment in mid-May and released him a week later. He’ll give the Dodgers some experienced bullpen depth in the upper minors.

Brasier, 35, was a vital member of the Boston bullpen during the Sox’ 2018 World Series campaign, returning from a solid stint in Japan to pitch 33 2/3 innings of 1.60 ERA relief. He added another 8 2/3 frames of one-run ball in the postseason, effectively solidifying his place in the Boston bullpen for the foreseeable future.

It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Brasier in Beantown since, however, with more lowlights than highlights. In 176 innings dating back to the 2019 season, the right-hander has worked to an unsightly 5.11 ERA. That’s skewed by particularly rough showings in 2021-22 (6.16 ERA in 83 1/3 innings), which ultimately led to last month’s dismissal.

Recent struggles notwithstanding, Brasier averages nearly 96 mph on his fastball and showed a strong 24.3% strikeout rate and 4.9% walk rate as recently as last season. He continued to post above-average swinging-strike and opponents’ chase rates through the 2022 season. Most of those numbers dipped below the league average in 2023, though Brasier at least kept the ball in the yard at a better-than-average rate during this year’s 21 frames (albeit with concerning exit velocity and hard-contact numbers).

There’s little harm in the Dodgers taking a low-cost flier on the veteran righty, even with this year’s alarming numbers. The Red Sox are paying the remainder of Brasier’s $2MM salary, so all the Dodgers would owe him is the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the MLB roster. Even that’s not a given, as he’s likely headed to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the time being.

The Dodgers are, as usual, a force to be reckoned with in the National League West, sitting on a 35-25 record that puts them in a first-place tie with the upstart D-backs.  If there’s one particularly notable flaw in L.A., it’s the bullpen. Dodgers relievers have combined for a 4.64 earned run average this season — the fifth-worst mark in Major League Baseball. They’ve gotten strong efforts from Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol and Caleb Ferguson thus far, and Shelby Miller has produced a resurgent 2.77 ERA as well (though with a 16.2% walk rate and .121 BABIP, making him a clear regression candidate). The rest of the relief corps has posted inconsistent or simply poor results, however, so it’s not a surprise to see the Dodgers taking a look at a veteran with some track record in a high-pressure, big-market situation.

Red Sox Release Ryan Brasier

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The Red Sox have released right-hander Ryan Brasier, per a team announcement. Brasier was designated for assignment by Boston last week after a brutal start to the 2023 season that saw him post a 7.29 ERA in 21 inning of work.

Aside from a nine inning cup of coffee with the Angels as a 25-year-old in 2013, Brasier has spent his entire big league career in the Red Sox bullpen. Prior to joining the Red Sox, Brasier pitched in Japan during the 2017 season, posting a strong 2.34 ERA in 50 innings of work for the Hiroshima Carp.

He was among the club’s best relievers in 2018, with a 1.60 ERA in 33 2/3 innings during the club’s World Series season, with a 1.35 ERA in an additional 6 2/3 frames during the postseason. Brasier struggled to a 4.85 ERA in a larger role during the 2019 campaign, but bounced back over the next two seasons with a solid 3.16 ERA in 37 innings of work.

Since the start of the 2022 season, however, Braier has seen his production take a noticeable downturn. He’s allowed a 6.16 ERA in 83 1/3 innings over that time, and while a 3.81 FIP indicates he may have pitched better than those top-line results, an 8.1% barrel rate and a 44.6% hard hit rate are both considerably above where they were when the 35-year-old Brasier was at his peak performance.

Despite his difficulties since the end of the 2021 campaign, Brasier seems likely to garner interests from clubs looking for bullpen depth. Brasier, who is still owed his $2MM salary for the 2023 season, can be signed in free agency by any club for only a pro-rated portion of the league minimum salary, and his previous dominance surely makes him of interest to clubs as a low-risk depth option.

Red Sox Designate Ryan Brasier For Assignment

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11:58PM: Rodriguez will be activated from the 15-day IL to take Brasier’s roster spot on Monday, The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reports.

10:12PM: The Red Sox have designated Ryan Brasier for assignment, as the right-hander himself told reporters (including Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe) tonight in the aftermath of a tough outing against the Cardinals.  Brasier allowed three runs over 2 1/3 innings of relief in a 9-1 Red Sox loss.

No corresponding move is yet known, though manager Alex Cora told reporters over the weekend that Joely Rodriguez was going to be activated from the 15-day injured list on Monday, so the Sox could be clearing room for Rodriguez’s return.  Rodriguez suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain in mid-March during Spring Training, and has yet to pitch this season.

Tonight’s performance inflated Brasier’s season ERA to 7.29 over 21 innings of work out of the Boston bullpen.  There is some level of misfortune in that ERA since Brasier’s strand rate (52.8%) and BABIP (.344) are both skewed, and his FIP is a more moderate 4.38.  That said, he has also posted below-average strikeout and walk rates, and Brasier is near the bottom of the league in hard contact.

The advanced metrics were much more favorable to Brasier last year, but the bottom-line results still weren’t there, as the righty had a 5.78 ERA over 62 1/3 innings in 2022.  With the lack of results stretching into a second season, the Sox have opted to part ways with a reliever who has had his share of ups and downs over six years in Boston, but for the most part was a solid hurler prior to the start of the 2022 season.

After pitching with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 2017, Brasier returned from Japan to sign a minor league deal with the Red Sox, and ended up unexpectedly emerging as an ace reliever for the eventual World Series champions.  Brasier posted a 1.60 ERA over 33 2/3 regular-season innings and then a 1.04 ERA in 8 1/3 postseason innings to help the Sox win the title.

Brasier’s 2019 season was a lot shakier, but he posted better results in 2020-21, with a 3.16 ERA albeit over only 37 innings.  Brasier’s workload was limited by the shortened 2020 regular season, and then a 2021 campaign that saw him miss most of the year due to a calf strain and then a concussion after he was struck in the head by a line drive during a simulated game.

The 35-year-old is in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and is still owed roughly $1.5MM of his $2MM salary for the 2023 season.  It doesn’t seem all that likely that another team will claim Brasier off DFA waivers, so the Red Sox will likely end up eating the salary if they end up releasing the righty, or they could simply outright him down to Triple-A.  If Brasier is signed by a new team after being released, the new club will only owe the prorated portion of the Major League minimum salary, with Boston covering the remainder of the $1.5MM.

Red Sox Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Red Sox announced a set of roster moves prior to their doubleheader with the Orioles today, and as expected, right-hander Josh Winckowski was added to the roster as the 27th man.  Winckowski is slated to make his Major League debut when he starts the second game of the doubleheader.  In other moves, Hansel Robles was placed on the 15-day injured list, and Hirokazu Sawamura was optioned to Triple-A Worcester, while right-handers Ryan Brasier and Phillips Valdez were called up from Triple-A.

Robles is battling back spasms and hasn’t pitched since May 22 (his IL placement is retroactive to the 25th).  In an inconsistent season for the Red Sox bullpen, Robles has emerged as a closer candidate, recording two saves and recording a 2.65 ERA over 17 innings of work.  However, the secondary metrics aren’t impressed with Robles’ work — his strikeout rate is only 16.2%, and Robles has benefited from a .188 BABIP.

Sawamura has a solid 3.60 ERA over 15 innings this year, and his demotion is likely less a reflection of his performance than it is about restocking the bullpen with some fresher arms.  After pitching in three of the last four days, Sawamura will likely get a short breather in Triple-A before being called back up to Boston in a few days’ time.  Brasier (6.28 ERA) and Valdez (6.10) have each struggled at the big league level this year, and will get another chance to turn things around as the Sox continue to look for reliability late in games.

Tender Deadline Signings: 11/30/21

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With the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players looming tonight at 8pm ET — the MLBPA and MLB jointly agreed to move the deadline up a couple days due to the looming expiration of the collective bargaining agreement — we’ll likely see a slew of arbitration-eligible players signing one-year deals.

It’s commonplace for a large batch of players to sign deals in the hours leading up to the tender deadline. “Pre-tender” deals of this nature often fall shy of projections due to the fact that teams use the looming threat of a non-tender to enhance their leverage. Arbitration contracts at this juncture are often take-it-or-leave-it propositions, with the “leave it” end of that arrangement resulting in the player being cut loose. Given the widely expected lockout, there could be more incentive than usual for borderline non-tender candidates to take those offers rather than being cast out into free agency just hours before a transaction freeze is implemented.

As a reminder, arbitration contracts are not fully guaranteed. In a typical year, a team can cut a player on an arb contract at any point before the halfway point in Spring Training and only be responsible for 30 days’ termination pay (about one-sixth of the contract). Releasing a player in the second half of Spring Training bumps the termination pay to 45 days of his prorated salary.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for each team’s arbitration-eligible players last month, although for many of the players listed below, this isn’t so much avoiding arbitration as it is avoiding a non-tender. Here’s a look at today’s agreements…

  • The Yankees have agreed to deals with infielder Gio Urshela and right-hander Domingo German, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter links). Urshela will make $6.55MM, while German has agreed to a $1.75MM deal. Urshela has two seasons of control remaining; German is controllable for three years. Urshela is coming off a .267/.301/.419 showing while playing third base and shortstop. German tossed 98 1/3 innings of 4.58 ERA ball.
  • The Twins have signed three arbitration-eligible pitchers, per reports from Feinsand and Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (on Twitter). Right-hander Jharel Cotton signed for $700K, reliever Caleb Thielbar lands $1.3MM and reliever Tyler Duffey signs for $3.8MM. Thielbar and Duffey were both productive members of the Minnesota relief corps in 2021. Cotton was recently claimed off waivers from the Rangers.
  • The Giants have agreed to terms with outfielder Austin Slater on a $1.85MM deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic (Twitter link). The 28-year-old (29 next month) appeared at all three spots on the grass while hitting .241/.320/.423 over 306 plate appearances in 2021.
  • Reliever Emilio Pagan and the Padres have agreed on a $2.3MM deal, reports Rosenthal (on Twitter). The 30-year-old worked 63 1/3 innings of 4.83 ERA/3.93 SIERA ball this past season.
  • The Diamondbacks agreed to a $2MM deal with left-hander Caleb Smith, reports Zach Buchanan of the Athletic (via Twitter). The 30-year-old posted a 4.83 ERA/4.68 SIERA across 113 2/3 innings in a swing capacity in 2021.

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Red Sox Select John Schreiber, Jack Lopez

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The Red Sox announced they’ve selected right-hander John Schreiber and infielder Jack López to the big league roster. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, has been placed on the injured list. Infielder Yairo Muñoz has also landed on the COVID IL after testing positive today, bringing Boston up to seven positive tests. Additionally, reliever Ryan Brasier has been activated from the 60-day IL to make his season debut, while utilityman Danny Santana is back from the 10-day IL.

It’s the continuation of a virus-forced roster churn for the Red Sox. Schreiber will step into the big league bullpen for the first time this season after being outrighted off the 40-man roster during Spring Training. The 27-year-old has 28 2/3 innings of MLB experience, all coming between 2019-20 with the Tigers. Schreiber managed above-average strikeout and walk rates in that brief look, but he was tagged for a few too many home runs en route to a 6.28 ERA.

After clearing waivers, Schreiber was assigned to Triple-A Worcester. While Schreiber has had trouble keeping the ball in the yard in the majors, that hasn’t been the case at the minors’ top level, where he’s served up just three homers all year. He’s posted a 3.10 ERA with Worcester, showing the ability to work multiple innings when necessary.

López is up for his first big league opportunity. A longtime Royals farmhand, the versatile infielder also saw some time in the Braves’ organization but has spent this season in the Boston system. He’s spent the bulk of the season with Worcester, hitting .260/.321/.378 over 218 plate appearances. López is getting the start tonight at second base, where he’ll likely team with Santana and Jonathan Araúz to cover the middle infield with Bogaerts and Muñoz unavailable.

Brasier has been a reliable member of the Red Sox relief corps over the past couple seasons. He’s been held back by injury for the entire year. After suffering a calf strain early in the season, Brasier was struck in the head by a comebacker in June during his rehab. He has worked his way back to full strength and could be a key high-leverage option right away for the Red Sox with Matt Barnes, Hirokazu Sawamura and Josh Taylor all unavailable for virus-related reasons.

AL East Notes: Eshelman, Barnes, Darwinzon, Brasier

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The Orioles announced that Thomas Eshelman has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A. The righty was designated for assignment on Sunday. In 21 1/3 innings this year, he’s struggled mightily, with an ERA of 8.02, along with strikeout and walk rates of 6.9% and 9.8%.

Elsewhere in the AL East…

  • Matt Barnes was placed on the COVID-IL earlier today because he was experiencing some symptoms but had not tested positive. After the game, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reported that Barnes subsequently tested negative and could be reactivated tomorrow. This is surely a relief on multiple fronts. But in pure baseball terms, Barnes is tremendously important to the Red Sox. The 31-year-old is having his best season to date, with an ERA of 2.30 being more than a full run better than his previous low of 3.65 in 2018. He’s also pushed his strikeout rate to 41.5%, beyond his previous best of 38.6. And his walk rate has trended downwards, coming in at 6.9%, better than every previous season except for his small-sample debut in 2014.
  • Cotillo also provided updates on a handful of other Red Sox, including an unfortunate detail about Darwinzon Hernandez. “It went from something that we felt like was going to be back soon, now he’s in pain and he’s a little more sore, so we’ve got to do other testing to see where we’re at with it,” Cora is quoted as saying in the piece. Hernandez was placed on the injured list July 31st with a right oblique strain. The hope at the time was that it would be a minimum stay on the 10-day. But there’s a chance that hope may be dashed now. The lefty has been a solid contributor out of the Boston bullpen this year, chalking up 34 innings with an ERA of 3.44, racking up strikeouts at a healthy clip of 29.9% but also a lot of walks at 16.9%.
  • “As of now, I’m very surprised, to be honest with you — pleasantly surprised — that he’s doing so well and things are trending in the right direction,” is what Cora had to say about Ryan Brasier. The 33-year-old was rehabbing a calf injury in June when he was struck in the head by a comebacker. He suffered a concussion and ear laceration at the time but now seems on the verge of throwing a bullpen and starting another rehab. The righty has been a valuable member of the Red Sox bullpen over the past three seasons but has yet to pitch at the big league level this year because of the calf injury and then the scary incident in June. But it’s very encouraging that he appears to be healthy now.

Pitcher Notes: Gray, Kikuchi, Peralta, Brasier

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Rockies right-hander Jon Gray went on the injured list yesterday with the ominous-sounding diagnosis of elbow soreness/forearm tightness in his throwing arm. Fortunately, an MRI revealed no structural damage, manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). That’s fantastic news for player and team alike. Gray is scheduled to reach free agency at the end of this season, so his finishing the year healthy is of upmost importance as he looks to market himself around the league. His contractual status, coupled with the Rockies 23-36 record, also makes him one of the game’s most obvious trade candidates in advance of the July 30 deadline.

A few more notes on pitchers around the league:

  • Mariners left-hander Yusei Kikuchi left last night’s start against the Angels in the fifth inning after being struck on the right knee by a David Fletcher line drive. The team announced he’s been diagnosed with a knee contusion/bone bruise. Kikuchi, who had to be helped off the field, was able to put some weight on his leg after the game manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Corey Brock of the Athletic). Servais suggested he didn’t believe there was any sort of fracture, and Kikuchi’s feeling “better than expected” today (via Brock), although it’s still possible he’ll need an IL stint. Kikuchi has been the Mariners best starter this year, tossing 66 2/3 innings of 3.92 ERA/3.64 SIERA ball.
  • Brewers righty Freddy Peralta has been one of the best pitchers in baseball. The 25-year-old is among the league’s top fifteen hurlers in ERA (2.25), SIERA (3.11), and strikeout/walk rate differential (26.1 percentage points). Will Sammon of the Athletic looks back at the December 2015 trade that sent Peralta, then a low minors pitching prospect, from the Mariners to the Brewers as part of the return for first baseman Adam Lind. Matt Kleine, now the Brewers vice president of baseball operations, initially spotted Peralta on the Mariners back fields in 2013. Intrigued by his fastball shape and athleticism, Kleine pushed the Milwaukee higher-ups to bring in Peralta via trade, and the opportunity presented itself when the Mariners expressed interest in Lind. Sammon breaks down Peralta’s continued progression and evolution (including the development of a slider and changeup to diversify his once fastball-heavy repertoire) in a piece that’ll be of interest to Brewers fans.
  • Red Sox reliever Ryan Brasier, who has been rehabbing from a left calf strain, was hospitalized after being struck in the head by a comebacker during a simulated game in Fort Myers this week. He has since been released, although Brasier suffered a concussion and an ear laceration, notes Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). That will halt his rehab process for the time being, although it’s certainly a relief he escaped more serious injury after the scary incident.
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