It's official: Cubs sign former All-Star reliever |
MESA – The Chicago Cubs and right-handed pitcher Brad Brach have agreed to terms on a 2019 contract with a club/player option for the 2020 campaign. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Brach, 32, combined to go 2-4 with 12 saves, 11 holds and a 3.59 ERA (25 ER/62.2 IP) in 69 relief appearances between Baltimore and Atlanta last season. He was acquired by the Braves at last year’s trade deadline and posted a 1.52 ERA (4 ER/23.2 IP) in 27 outings to help the club to the N.L. East division title. A 2016 A.L. All-Star with Baltimore, Brach is a career 31-23 with 33 saves, 83 holds and a 3.08 ERA (156 ER/456.0 IP) in 424 relief appearances covering all or part of eight major league seasons with San Diego (2011-13), Baltimore (2014-18) and Atlanta (2018). He has posted a sub-3.78 ERA in each of his seven seasons with at least 30 outings and has surpassed 60 outings in five of the last seven campaigns. Brach has averaged 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings while posting a 1.27 WHIP in his big league career. Brach broke into the big leagues with San Diego in 2011, was acquired by Baltimore on November 25, 2013 and went 7-1 with a 3.18 ERA (22 ER/62.1 IP) in 46 appearances in 2014. He posted a 2.72 ERA (24 ER/79.1 IP) in 62 relief outings in 2015 leading into his All-Star campaign a season later, when Brach went 10-4 with 24 holds and a 2.05 ERA (18 ER/79.0 IP) in a career high 71 outings in 2016. Brach set a career high with 18 saves in 2017 before joining Atlanta on July 30, 2018 and advancing to the postseason for the third time in his career. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Brach was originally selected by the Padres in the 42nd round of the 2008 Draft out of Monmouth University. He is a native of Freehold, N.J. Chicago’s 40-man roster stands at 40 players. The #Cubs and RHP Brad Brach have agreed to terms on a 2019 contract with a club/player option for 2020. pic.twitter.com/Vq28Wdwezd
