MESA, Ariz. – In the end, Brad Brach is happy to be here.
This is a chance to close games, return to the playoffs and maybe earn a World Series ring. He hasn’t lost the big-picture perspective that comes from being drafted in the 42nd round, or forgotten how he used to work as a substitute teacher in the offseason. The team has already asked his wife Jenae Cherry Brach, a country music artist who grew up in suburban Wonder Lake, Ill., in a family of Cubs fans, if she wants to sing the national anthem this season at Wrigley Field.
Advertisement
But from start to finish, Brach’s experience as a free agent created a sense of anxiety, confusion and frustration. Even the terms of the initial agreement aren’t what they once appeared.
The Cubs restructured Brach’s contract after the standard medical review, sources told The Athletic, setting this year’s base salary at $1.65 million with roster bonuses tied to his time on the active 25-man roster. One day is worth $350,000 – and there is the potential to earn $500,000 more if he is active for 120 days this season, and $500,000 more if he is active for 150 days.
The 2020 club option is valued at $5 million, according to sources familiar with Brach’s deal, while next year’s player option is filed at $1.35 million with a $100,000 buyout.
“Everything’s fine,” Brach said Monday at the Sloan Park complex. “I had just a little bit of a viral infection. It was just kind of bad timing. Just kind of one of those things. When I was doing my physical, it came up, so it was adjusted from there.”
Before the mononucleosis finding, the Cubs initially reached an agreement with Brach on a $3 million salary for 2019, which The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported on Jan. 24. At that point, the buyout language would guarantee Brach $4.35 million, plus the potential to see the deal’s overall value grow to $9.5 million if the Cubs exercised their option for next season.
The Cubs didn’t announce the Brach signing until Feb. 11, the day before pitchers and catchers officially reported to Arizona. During the welcome-to-camp press conference on Feb. 12, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said “there’s always a chance that we manage to squeeze one more (reliever) in.”
The savings mattered for a big-market team with budget constraints and a franchise-record payroll in the range of $225 million. On Feb. 14, the Cubs announced Xavier Cedeño’s one-year deal worth $900,000, plus $300,000 in performance bonuses.
Advertisement
Brach hasn’t appeared in a Cactus League game yet this spring, though the Cubs generally take a conservative approach with their veteran relievers in Mesa.
“I’m on time for Opening Day,” Brach said. “Just kind of easing into it here. It kind of knocked me out there for a couple weeks. Just getting my strength back, but my throwing has been on schedule.”
The Cubs are also planning around Brandon Morrow, who will miss at least the first month of the season while recovering from offseason elbow surgery. Assuming no setbacks, Morrow said Monday that he is scheduled for a bullpen session in the last week of March.
Even before these new contract details surfaced, Brach explained what it’s like to be a free agent during the game’s data revolution, a time of labor vs. management tension that could lead to a work stoppage when the collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2021 season.
“It was stressful,” Brach said at the beginning of camp. “It just kind of (dragged) on forever. You hear about interest the first week and then you don’t get any offers until late December/January and you’re just kind of wondering what’s going on.
“Teams say they like you, but they’re not making any offers. And then you finally get offers and six or seven teams are giving you the same offer, so it’s just kind of a weird process and nobody really knows what’s going on right now. Obviously, I would have liked the experience to have been a little bit better. But I’m just glad to be here now and glad it’s over with for at least this year. And if I pitch well enough, I’ll be here again next year.”
Brach, who will turn 33 next month, has made 60-plus appearances five times in the last seven seasons. He performed in the AL East and pitched in four playoff series. He thrived after last summer’s trade from the last-place Orioles to the eventual first-place Atlanta Braves, posting a 1.52 ERA in 27 games.
Advertisement
“We talked to certain teams,” Brach said. “They told us, ‘We have an algorithm and here’s where you fall on the scale.’”
Algorithm, a reporter asked: Is that the new word for collusion?
“I don’t know, you guys can make of that what you want,” Brach, smiling along with the writers at his locker. “It’s just kind of weird that all offers are the same, they come around the same time and everybody tells you there’s an algorithm.
“You figure teams have different ones, but I don’t know. It’s definitely a weird process and you just can’t figure it out. Luckily, the guys in the bullpen have been the ones that haven’t been hurt as bad. I think if you’re at the top of the class, you’re fine. But if you’re somewhere in the middle, you’re going to get hurt. And that’s where they’re kind of taking advantage of us.”
Brach understands this is a business. He also appreciated Atlanta’s approach to analytics and believes the Cubs’ pitching infrastructure will help maximize his performance. There is a level of familiarity with Cubs executives Jed Hoyer and Jason McLeod, who worked for the San Diego Padres when Brach had been that organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2010. Brach also played with Cubs coaches Will Venable and Chris Denorfia in San Diego.
“I’m excited,” Brach said. “It’s been a really good camp. I’ve learned a few things that will definitely help. I’m pumped for the opportunity here. I want to win a lot of games and that’s the goal with everybody here.”
Remember, this is someone who got a $1,000 signing bonus out of Monmouth University in 2008 and returned home to New Jersey to finish his student teaching, earning a degree in history/education. Brach beat impossible odds to make it to the big leagues – the 42nd round doesn’t exist in the amateur draft anymore – much less earn enough service time to become a free agent. It’s not personal when all 30 teams are constantly looking for any kind of an edge.
Advertisement
“Everybody’s stories are very similar now,” Brach said. “It must just be the way front offices are running it now or whatever. It’s just part of it. It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing you can really do about it. At the end of the day, you still get to play baseball and it’s a great job to have. You just got to be grateful for it. Once the offseason’s over, it’s over. You just got to deal with it and go play baseball and do your job.”
(Top photo: Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports)