The San Francisco Giants had some big pitching news on Wednesday when they welcomed back right-handed starter Kevin Gausman, who accepted the qualifying offer.
But they also had another move that flew under the radar. According to @giantsprospects, the team agreed to a Minor League deal with right-handed reliever Silvino Bracho.
Giants signed RHP Silvino Bracho (28.3Y, 5'10" 190) to a minor league contract. A 2011 IFA signing by AZ out of VEN. MLB debut in 2015.
— GPT (@giantsprospects) November 11, 2020
MLB (2015-20): 89.2IP 85H 33BB 94K 4.82ERA, 114DRA-. Had TJ in 2019, returned late in 2020 for one app. 92-94FB, good CH, 80%-90% usage of FB/CH pic.twitter.com/GQYuYlMiyg
Bracho, who is 28 and from Venezuela, had spent his entire career with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made his MLB debut in 2015, and while it took him a while to find his footing, he had a very nice season in 2018. He had a 3.19 ERA that year, with a 3.26 FIP, and 34 strikeouts to 12 walks in 31 innings.
But he suffered a severe injury during Spring Training in 2019, and needed Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire season, and only made one appearance in 2020.
Now he’ll try and work his way back to the big leagues with the Giants.
San Francisco had one of the worst bullpens in all of baseball this season, so they’ll take all the help they can get. Farhan Zaidi, Scott Harris and Co. have shown a desire to load up on Minor League contracts and find players who might have a chance at sticking.
Bracho certainly fits that mold, at least at this stage in the offseason. It very well could be that we never see him wear a Giants jersey in an actual game, but half of the value in Minor League contracts is that you can buy a bunch of lottery tickets and hope that there’s at least one winner.
Maybe Bracho is that one.