Tigers sign journeyman relief pitcher

The young and fun Detroit Tigers, who made it to the playoffs last season for the first time since 2014, have signed a veteran pitcher to join their staff. John Brebbia, who is embarking on his age-35 season, joins the Tigers on a one-year deal worth $2.25 million. The deal includes a club option for the 2026 season and also features performance-related bonuses.

For Brebbia, this will be the fifth stop on his MLB journey that has seen stops on both coasts and in the Midwest.

Brebbia was drafted by the New York Yankees back in 2011 and came up with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017. From 2017-to-2019, Brebbia appeared in 161 games for the Cardinals and worked to a 3.14 ERA. The right-handed Brebbia missed the pandemic-shortened 2020 season before he joined the San Francisco Giants in 2021. Brebbia worked for the Giants from 2021-to-2023, appearing in a league-high 76 games in 2022.

The Chicago White Sox signed Brebbia for the 2024 season and eventually released him in late August of that year. Shortly after his release, the Atlanta Braves took a flyer on Brebbia. For the 2024 season, combined between the White Sox and Braves, Brebbia posted a 4.52 FIP and a 10.9 K/9 rate over 55 games.

An interesting note in this deal is that Brebbia had some previous history with Tigers president Scott Harris, as reported by Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. When Brebbia was toeing the rubber for the Giants, Harris was the club’s general manager. Executives don’t forget many things, especially when they made their team better; Harris must have liked what he saw out of Brebbia back in their San Francisco days.

The tenured Brebbia joins a Detroit bullpen that also features Jason Foley as the likely closer, followed by lefties Tyler Holton and Sean Guenther, and free-agent acquisition Tommy Kahnle. Last season, the Tigers at 86-76 finished tied with the Kansas City Royals for second place in the American League Central, with the division crown going to the Cleveland Guardians. The Tigers knocked out the Houston Astros, 2-0, in the Wild Card round, but ultimately fell, 3-2, in the ALDS to the Guardians.