Braves pursuing Orioles reliever Brad Brach, per report

Hope you are all enjoying the trade rumors flying fast and furious on this Sunday, Braves Country. Here’s the latest one:

With Zach Britton already traded to the Yankees and Manny Machado sent off to Los Angeles, the teardown in Baltimore is likely to continue. Brach would present a much-needed relief option in Atlanta’s bullpen if he is able to be acquired before the Trade Deadline.

Brach should come at a modest cost, as he is a pure rental whose team control expires at the conclusion of this season. He is also owed just $5.2 million this season, the pro-rated share of which should be below $2 million for the remainder of the season. Given how little rentals have cost so far this month, there shouldn’t be any expectation that Brach’s cost would be prohibitive or even particularly high.

However, Brach hasn’t pitched particularly well so far in 2018. Now 32 years old, the righty reliever has put up a 113 ERA-, 92 FIP-, and 104 xFIP- so far in 2018. If the season were to end today, that would be his worst ERA- since his cup of coffee to begin his career 2011, and his worst FIP- and xFIP- since his first Orioles season all the way back in 2014. Pretty much everything for Brach has gone backwards this year, including a declining strikeout rate, a rising walk rate, and more hard contact allowed. He’s also been pounded by lefties, and thus represents a bit of a scary option for a bullpen that hasn’t always been managed optimally by manager Brian Snitker.

Stay tuned - the Trade Deadline is on Tuesday.