The San Francisco Giants are taking another chance on a pitcher returning from injury, this time in the bullpen.  They have signed former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher John Brebbia to a one-year deal worth $800,000, after he had Tommy John surgery in June 2020.

The 30-year old reliever made his Major League debut in 2017, and has had three good seasons under his belt.  He has a career 3.14 ERA with 198 strikeouts against 54 walks in 175 total innings pitched.  In his most recent season, he had a 3.59 ERA in a career high 72.2 innings pitched in 66 appearances.

Brebbia throws with a fastball-slider combo, with the fastball topping out at 94 mph.  But he has just been consistent over his career in not getting hit hard.  In 2019, he allowed just a 87.9 mph exit velocity (70th percentile in the league) and a .279 xwOBA allowed (87th percentile), and had been one of the most consistent middle relievers in baseball.

His weakness in 2019 was against left-handed hitters  Although he had a similar batting average allowed (.225 against LHH, .212 against RHH), he gave up home runs at a faster rate against left-handers.  That will be something to keep an eye on, especially if 2020 keeps the 3-batter minimum rule.

Since Brebbia only had Tommy John surgery in June, he’ll miss the first part of the season, assuming it isn’t delayed due to COVID-19.  Recent reports say he’s doing well on his recovery and may be returning around June, hopefully giving the Giants a good bullpen option in the second half of the season.  The Giants would also continue to have two more years of team control after the 2021 season