The New York Mets have brought back a member of the 2019 squad.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and MLB Network, Brad Brach is returning to Queens on a one-year, $850,000 deal with a player option of $1.25 million for 2021. The deal also includes performance incentives and bonuses that break down as follows:
Brach’s base salary on player option for 2021 will increase by $125K for 20 games pitched, $350K each for 30, 35, 40, 50, 60 and 65. Also has incentives for 2020: $100K each for 50, 55, 60 and 65 games pitched. In 2021, those incentives are $100K for 50, 55, 60, 65 and 70. https://t.co/pkJt9CWOH4
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 6, 2019
Brach, 33, was signed by the Mets this past August after he was released by the Chicago Cubs.
The Freehold, New Jersey native who grew up a Mets fan finished 2019 on a high note, as he appeared in 16 games for New York and registered a 3.68 ERA, 2.67 FIP, 15 strikeouts and a 0.5 fWAR across 14.2 innings pitched.
For his career, Brach has always been tough on right-handed hitters, who have a career triple slash of .209/.288/.343 against him in 1,203 plate appearances.
Brach’s fastball is slightly above average, as it ranked in the 58th percentile by Baseball Savant in 2019. His strikeout rate is also slightly above average, ranking in the 61st percentile, however his hard hit rate is pedestrian, ranking in the 47th percentile, as is his exit velocity (48th percentile), xwOBA (44th percentile) and xBA (37th percentile).
Additionally, Brach’s xSLG was in the 73rd percentile this past year, while his 4.0 barrel rate was in the top five percent of the league. His exit velocity of 88.0 mph was more or less in line with his career numbers, but his opposing launch angle spiked to 14.3 degrees last year. The big X-factor for Brach, however, will be his walks. His walk rate in 2019 was 12.8 percent which was in the bottom seven percent of the league. Though, as a Met he yielded just three walks in his 16 appearances.
It’ll be interesting to see how Brach is used in 2020, as he thrives against righties but struggles against left-handed hitters. With the new three batter minimum for relievers, it’ll be up to manager Carlos Beltran to make sure he is used properly.
The re-signing of Brach is the third move in the last two days for the Mets, who acquired outfielder Jake Marisnick from the Houston Astros on Thursday, and signed infielder Max Moroff and outfielder Jarrett Parker to minor league deals with Spring Training invites. Additionally this offseason, the Mets have claimed southpaw Stephen Gonsalves off waivers from the Minnesota Twins and signed left-hander Chasen Shreve to a minor league deal that included a Spring Training invite.
