The Rangers released veteran reliever Ryan Brasier from their Triple-A affiliate, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Brasier had been pitching well and was cut loose on June 1, which suggests there may have been an opt-out date in his contract with Texas. He joins righty Josh Sborz, also released from the Rangers’ Round Rock affiliate yesterday, in returning to the open market.
Brasier signed a minor league deal with Texas in the offseason. He was in big league camp this spring but opted out of that original minor league pact when he was told he wouldn’t make the roster. The 38-year-old righty and Texas native eventually re-signed on a new minor league deal but hasn’t gotten a call to the majors despite solid results in the upper minors.
In 22 2/3 innings with the Express this season, Brasier has posted a respectable 3.97 ERA with more encouraging rate stats. He’s set down an above-average 24.5% of his opponents on strikes, turned in a sharp 6.4% walk rate and induced grounders at a hearty 47.6% clip. He’s yielded only two round-trippers thus far — an average of 0.79 per nine innings pitched.
Brasier’s velocity has been on the decline for a few seasons now, as one would expect for a veteran who’s in his 20th professional season and approaching his 39th birthday (in August). He’s no longer averaging the 96 mph he was at his peak, but the 93.9 mph he’s averaged in Round Rock this season is right in line with the 94 mph he averaged in the Cubs’ bullpen last year; Brasier tossed 26 innings with a 4.50 ERA in Chicago last year (with a more impressive 3.74 SIERA and 3.17 FIP).
Brasier has pitched in parts of nine major league seasons and accrued more than eight years of MLB service time. He made brief MLB debut with the 2013 Angels but didn’t settle in as a consistent big leaguer until an age-29 stint in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp helped to turn his career around. A nice performance in Japan landed him a minor league deal with the Red Sox, and he broke out with a 1.60 ERA in 33 2/3 frames for their World Series-winning club in 2018.
Since that return from NPB, Brasier carries a 3.96 ERA in 302 1/3 frames. As previously mentioned, the stuff isn’t where it was in his early 30s, but even over the past three seasons, Brasier has worked to a solid 3.48 earned run average while fanning a league-average 22.3% of his opponents. His command has sharpened in the late stages of his career; Brasier has posted a sub-5% walk rate in three of the past four seasons, including each of the past two.
There are plenty of teams around the league in far more dire need of bullpen help than Texas. Rangers relievers have combined for a 3.39 ERA that ranks eighth-best in the sport. They’ve struggled a bit more over the past month (4.43 earned run average), but they ostensibly preferred to give rookie left-hander Robby Ahlstrom (just selected to the roster yesterday) a look over a more veteran option like Brasier or Sborz. Brasier’s track record and solid performance in Triple-A this year ought to earn him an opportunity with another organization before long — perhaps even a major league deal.
