Revisiting Brad Brach to the Pirates

Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images During the offseason, I wrote an article detailing why the Pittsburgh Pirates should take a flier on relief pitcher Brad Brach. I was roundly met with derision. Fair enough, as Pittsburgh’s 4.00 FIP out of the bullpen is perhaps the only area the team doesn’t need shoring up. Nonetheless, I liked Brach.

Coming off two shaky seasons (one by some metrics but not others, the other a COVID-shortened season), Brach probably wasn’t high on many teams’ wish lists, nor was he a fodder-producer for fans. Not to mention, he’s 35 this season. I assumed the Pirates would need a steady, experienced reliever for late game situations, but they’ve done fine in that…