Every postseason contender needs pitching depth to last it through the second half of the season and, if they're lucky, a long playoff run. Ahead of the trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox brought in former San Francisco Giants reliever Erik Miler to bolster their bullpen, and on August 6, they reinforced it again with a minor league signing.
The Red Sox have signed reliever John Brebbia to a minor league deal, according to Tom Caron of NESN. Brebbia, a nine-year MLB veteran and Massachusetts native, signed a minor league deal with the Sox last season, but he never made an appearance in the organization.
Brebbia has posted a 4.12 ERA over 382.2 innings in his career, all but 21 of his appearances have come in relief. The right-hander most recently appeared in the major leagues for the Colorado Rockies, where he signed a minor league deal over the offseason. Brebbia allowed five runs on seven hits with two strikeouts over 4.1 innings in Colorado.
Brebbia has appeared for both the Rockies and Minnesota Twins' Triple-A affiliates this season, to the tune of a 4.14 ERA with 45 strikeouts and 11 walks over 37 innings. He's looked particularly good with Colorado's Triple-A squad and he logged a 1.62 ERA and 1.08 WHIP over 16.2 innings in Albuquerque.
Red Sox reunite with reliever John Brebbia on minor league deal to bolster bullpen depth for playoff push
The veteran may struggle limiting runs, but he still throws strikes at a high clip. Brebbia has posted a 29.2 strikeout percentage in Triple-A compared to a 7.1 walk percentage. He attacks the zone with he best of them with a 69.2 strike percentage and a 59.6 zone percentage.
There's no such thing as a bad minor league deal, and despite some of Brebbia's 2026 numbers, particularly in the run column, he's a solid depth addition for Boston. His veteran status and ability to consistently throw strikes could be key in the event of an injury. He joins Tyler Samaniego, Joe La Sorsa, Eduardo Rivera and Alec Gamboa in the WooSox bullpen.
The Red Sox might get lucky enough that they won't need Brebbia — Brayan Bello, another righty, has grown into one of the best relievers in the sport (0.64 ERA, 0.81 WHIP over 42 innings in relief) and Tanner Houck could return from his 2025 UCL surgery in time to work out of the bullpen.
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