2023 stats: 40 G (10 starts), 38.1 IP, 3.99 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 1.174 WHIP, 28.2 K%, 8.7% BB%
Back in 2019, the San Francisco Giants saw something in John Brebbia: he had a great slider. Problem was, he pitched for the Cardinals, who followed a more traditional model of establishing the fastball to setup the secondary pitch(es). What Farhan Zaidi’s new front office brough to the franchise was this simple thought: what if a pitcher threw his best pitch more often?
It took until Brebbia was granted free agent after the 2020 season and in the middle of recovering from Tommy John surgery to put their knowledge into practice and when they signed him knowing he’d be rehabbing for at least half the first season, they did so knowing full well that once he came back in the following season that the rehab plus coaching would make him formidable.