BALTIMORE (AP) — The Atlanta Braves bolstered their bullpen for a run at the NL East title, obtaining right-hander Brad Brach on Sunday in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles for $250,000 of international signing bonus allocation money.Brach is 1-2 with a 4.85 ERA and owns a 10.80 ERA in eight games this month. Left-handers are hitting .342 against him, and he has allowed runs in 11 of 42 appearances.But Brach is only two years removed from making the AL All-Star team, has 11 saves this season and worked as Baltimore’s closer for long stretches over the last two years.
Brach’s contract expires after this season, and with the Orioles mired in last place and in full rebuilding mode, it was a deal that was easy to make for vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette.“It’s the first trade that we’ve made with an international roster slot coming back to the Orioles,” Duquette said. “We’ll put it to good use signing some young ballplayers that will help us get back to a competitive team.”The deal is a sign that the Orioles have changed their philosophy on building a winner — last year, Baltimore traded away all but $500,000 of its allocation and spent just $440,000 on international amateurs.Seems like Brach made out on the deal, too.“He gets to go to a team that is pursuing a pennant race with young players, so he is a good veteran presence,” Duquette said.As he packed his bags, Brach was hard-pressed to list his most memorable moment with Baltimore.“It’s hard to say. The stadium and the fans here are just incredible,” he said. “It’s just weird. I don’t think it’ll hit me until maybe tomorrow when I’m in the Atlanta clubhouse or something like that. But it’s just hard to believe it’s come down to this, and this is the end.”Atlanta beat Los Angeles on Sunday to cut Philadelphia’s lead in the NL East to 1 ½ games. Brach may not be the arm to get the Braves over the top, but he could be a key contributor if he shakes off the inconsistency he’s displayed this season.At least he won’t have to wonder about if and when the Orioles were going to swap him out.“I’m glad that this waiting period is done and I know I’m going somewhere,” he said. “I know where I’m going to spend the rest of the year, which is definitely a huge burden off my mind.”
His departure follows that of closer Zach Britton, who was traded to the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Brach broke into the big leagues with San Diego in 2011 and pitched in parts of three seasons with the Padres before coming to Baltimore in a trade in November 2013.
Brach went 7-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 2014, was 10-4 in 2016 and entered this season with a 26-13 record and a 2.74 ERA with the Orioles.He had 18 saves last year while subbing for an injured Britton, and earned most of his saves this season while Britton started on the disabled list with a torn Achilles tendon.
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