The White Sox are deepening their bullpen, reportedly agreeing to acquire Huascar Brazobán from the Mets for minor league pitchers Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin. Chicago already has an opening on the 40-man roster and won’t need to make a corresponding move once the deal is finalized.
Brazobán is having a career year at age 36. The righty tossed a scoreless frame with a couple strikeouts in Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Marlins, a nice conclusion to his time in Queens. That lowered his earned run average to 2.56 across 52 2/3 innings. Brazobán is getting ground-balls at a strong 52.6% clip while fanning a slightly above-average 23.7% of batters faced.
The Dominican-born Brazobán has a big arm, averaging 96-97 mph on his fastballs. He works most heavily with his sinker, so it’s more of a ground-ball profile than one that gets a ton of whiffs. His best pitch is a low-90s changeup that moves similarly to the sinker, making it difficult for hitters to identify out of his hand.
Brazobán has been pitching medium to high leverage relief in a generally solid New York bullpen. He doesn’t have great control and has issued a lot of walks to left-handed hitters over his career. That’s still the case this year, as he’s walked 11% of opponents overall and 13 of the 96 lefty batters he’s faced. Despite the fringe command, he has been durable and generally effective since the Mets acquired him from Miami two summers ago.
The White Sox included Seranthony Domínguez as a salary offset in their deal for starter Luis Castillo on Saturday. Domínguez had an underwhelming half-season in Chicago and had fallen down the leverage hierarchy. Brazobán should be an upgrade in a setup role alongside Jordan Hicks in front of primary closer Grant Taylor. The Sox are fairly well-positioned from the left side with Sean Newcomb and Bryan Hudson. Chicago is still looking for another starter and catching help on deadline day.
Brazobán, who was also tied to the Pirates this weekend, is the second reliever and third pitcher dealt by the Mets this week following the A.J. Minter and Freddy Peralta trades. Clay Holmes, Brooks Raley, and potentially Luke Weaver should follow by Monday evening. Holmes is expected to decline his $12MM player option, while Raley is an impending free agent. Weaver is signed for next season at $11MM, so the Mets could hold him, but they may prefer to sell high while he’s a top target for contenders.
New York could have held onto Brazobán as well. He’s affordably under club control for three additional seasons. Brazobán had a winding career arc that included a few years in independent ball before he made his MLB debut at age 32. He’ll be eligible for arbitration through his age-39 campaign and is making just $1.05MM this year. He’s owed just $316K for the stretch run.
The cheap club control made him a decent target for any contender. The Mets knew he’s unlikely to ever have more trade value than he does now, so they elected to cash him in for a pair of mid-level pitching prospects. Davis is the more highly regarded of the two, placing on the back half of Chicago’s organizational top 30 at Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.
A fifth-round pick out of Oklahoma State last year, Davis is a big on-mound presence at 6’9″ and 235 pounds. He fell in the draft because of command questions and a shoulder injury during his junior year. Davis has a plus fastball in the upper 90s that can push triple digits, along with a potential plus slider.
Scouting reports almost unanimously project him to the bullpen thanks to a below-average changeup and subpar control. Davis has continued to work as a starter in his first minor league season, posting a 5.81 ERA in 62 innings between High-A and Double-A. He has fanned a quarter of opponents against a manageable 8.7% walk rate.
Franklin is a 27-year-old reliever who could get a look in what’ll be an overhauled Mets bullpen for the stretch run. He signed for just $10K after being drafted in the 10th round in 2023. Franklin has never appeared on an organizational top 30 at Baseball America, though James Fegan of FanGraphs slotted him 20th in the Chicago system last offseason. The righty has worked to a 4.37 ERA across 45 1/3 Triple-A innings this year. He’s sitting around 94 mph on his fastball while throwing a mid-80s slider and splitter.
The Missouri product has posted an excellent strikeout and walk profile in Triple-A. Franklin has fanned 32% of opponents with a sub-8% walk rate. He has been very susceptible to the home run ball, though, giving up more than two per nine innings. Franklin will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in the offseason if the Mets don’t select him onto the 40-man roster (and if the draft itself isn’t canceled because of the lockout).
Yancen Pujols first reported the White Sox were acquiring Brazobán. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the Mets’ return. Image courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images.
