9:41AM: Brebbia will earn $5.5MM in guaranteed money, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (links to X) has the breakdown of terms. Brebbia earns a $4MM base salary for 2024, and there is a $6MM mutual option for 2025 that includes a $1.5MM buyout. Up to $1MM in incentive bonuses are also available each season, and Brebbia can start unlocking those bonuses if and when he hits the 45-appearance threshold.
8:58AM: The White Sox have signed right-hander John Brebbia, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports (via X). Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times adds that Brebbia inked a one-year deal. Brebbia is represented by Icon Sports Management.
Newly-hired White Sox senior pitching advisor Brian Bannister undoubtedly had some influence in the signing, as Bannister spent the previous four seasons as the Giants’ director of pitching and oversaw Brebbia’s usage as a versatile bullpen weapon. Brebbia worked as an opener, middle reliever, and setup man in San Francisco, posting a 3.83 ERA over 134 appearances and 124 2/3 innings while also delivering a solid 6.7% walk rate and 23% strikeout rate.
That latter statistic is perhaps a little misleading, as Brebbia had only a 18.8% strikeout rate during his 68 innings in 2022, sandwiched between much higher K% rates in the smaller sample sizes of his other two seasons. Brebbia tossed only 18 1/3 innings in 2021 since he was recovering from a June 2020 Tommy John surgery, and he also missed over 2.5 months of last season due to a lat strain.
A 30th-round pick for the Yankees in the 2011 draft, Brebbia was a bit of a late bloomer who didn’t make his MLB debut until when he was just shy of his 27th birthday, as a member of the 2017 Cardinals. Brebbia pitched well out of the Cards’ bullpen in his first three big league seasons, but in the wake of his TJ surgery, St. Louis opted to non-tender him following the 2020 season. For his career, the 33-year-old Brebbia has a 3.42 ERA over 299 2/3 innings with St. Louis and San Francisco.
The White Sox had a lot of holes to fill in both the rotation and their bullpen this winter, and GM Chris Getz has been busy on that front in acquiring the likes of Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen, Michael Soroka, and Tim Hill, in addition to a number of other pitchers with MLB experience on minor league deals. Since Aaron Bummer was traded to the Braves, Brebbia might step into the setup role that Bummer previously held in Chicago, even if it isn’t a perfect one-to-one match since Bummer is a southpaw.
It also stands to reason that Brebbia could be deployed as he was in San Francisco, rather than strictly in a setup capacity. Since Gregory Santos is recovering from elbow inflammation and might not be ready for the start of Spring Training, Brebbia might even nab a few save opportunities if Santos hits any delays or if the White Sox simply decide to take it easy with their prospective closer.