Chicago White Sox right-handed pitcher John Brebbia is dealing with a strained right calf, he told reporters on Friday.
Brebbia, who signed with the White Sox last month, was wearing a walking boot around the team's Spring Training facilities at Camelback Ranch. He shared the full story on his injury, which he said he suffered during a live batting practice session on Thursday.
"Threw a pitch, it was a soft ground ball, so I gave a couple half-steps towards first as if it's (pitchers' fielding practice)," Brebbia said. "And then I turn around and walk back to the mound and my first step heading towards the mound just felt it pop. Finished the BP, didn't affect my stuff, which was great. But obviously, I guess moving side-to-side's fine but moving front-back isn't."
Brebbia explained that he didn't think it was a very serious injury in the moment, but that the training staff dissuaded him from pushing through it.
"It was one of those things where when it happened, I was like 'Ah, you know what, I'm gonna skip running today, I'm gonna give it a breather tonight and then I'll just get back, maybe ease into the running tomorrow,'" Brebbia said. "And (the trainers) were feeling it and they were like 'Nope. No, don't do that, we're not gonna run for a little bit.'"
The 33-year-old righty is coming off three seasons as a workhorse in the San Francisco Giants' bullpen, even serving as an on-and-off opener the past two years. Before that, Brebbia spent three seasons as an innings-eating reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Brebbia went 3-5 with a 3.99 ERA, 1.174 WHIP, 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.2 WAR in 40 games in 2023. He led the NL with 76 appearances in 2022, when his ERA was 3.18.
For his career, Brebbia is 15-15 with a 3.42 ERA, 1.188 WHIP, 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 4.0 WAR across 299.2 innings of work.
The White Sox inked Brebbia to a one-year, $4 million deal with the belief that he would compete to be their primary closer. Brebbia has a $6 million mutual option for 2025, which features a $1.5 million buyout, as well as $250K bonuses if he pitches in 45, 50, 55 or 60 games this season.
It remains unclear if this most recent injury will jeopardize Brebbia's ability to reach those thresholds, or if Chicago's medical staff is just having him take it easy through Spring Training.
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