A 1.40 ERA after April, a 1.34 ERA after May, and by mid-June, it only ballooned to 1.62. Things had been going so well for Huascar Brazoban. A sneaky trade deadline find last year for the New York Mets was cruising through his first 30 games of the season.
Since then, Brazoban’s magic has worn off. He has pitched in 14 more games, logging 12.2 innings. 15 earned runs have been charged against him. He has walked 13 and struck out 14.
On shaky ground only to correct some things and look sharper in July, his failure to cover first base in the club’s loss on Monday was enough for him to seal his fate.