The Tigers announced that right-hander John Brebbia has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right triceps strain. Left-hander Bailey Horn was called up from Triple-A to take Brebbia’s spot on the active roster.
Brebbia signed a one-year free-agent deal with Detroit in February that will pay him $2.75M in guaranteed money, plus the Tigers hold a $4M club option on his services for 2026. The first few weeks of Brebbia’s tenure in Motown were smooth sailing in terms of pure results, even if Brebbia’s 1.00 ERA over nine innings and eight appearances was undermined by some glaring peripheral statistics. Brebbia’s BABIP is a measly .143 and he has a 13.2% walk rate, so clearly some good luck was on his side in the early going.
Then again, it could be argued that Brebbia was due a change in fortune following a 2024 season that saw his 3.29 SIERA overshadowed by a 5.86 ERA in 55 1/3 combined innings with the White Sox and Braves. Brebbia struggled to a 6.29 ERA in 48 2/3 innings with Chicago before catching on with Atlanta late in the season, and posting a 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 frames after the change of scenery.
Brebbia just pitched in Friday’s game (a 7-3 Tigers win over the Royals), so his injury must’ve arisen in fairly quick fashion. In a microcosm of his season to date, Brebbia allowed two walks and a hit over 31 pitches Friday but escaped his inning without allowing any runs. The scoreless inning might represent Brebbia’s last bit of action for a while, as even a minor strain likely means more than just a 15-day minimum on the injured list, and a more severe strain could cost Brebbia multiple months. The right-hander is unfortunately no stranger to long injury absences, as a Tommy John surgery cost him all of the 2020 season and most of the 2021 season, plus he had a stint on the Giants’ 60-day IL in 2023 due to a lat strain.
Beau Brieske was just placed on the Tigers’ 15-day IL due to ankle inflammation, so Detroit is suddenly down two members of its bullpen in as many days. This season’s version of “pitching chaos” has seen the Tigers unexpectedly send presumptive closer Jason Foley (who is now injured) to Triple-A to begin the season, and elevate newly signed veteran Tommy Kahnle into the closer’s role. The results have still been there since Detroit’s 3.36 bullpen ERA is the 10th-best in the majors, though the relief corps ranks closer to the bottom of the league in terms of strikeouts.
The injuries have led to Horn getting his first taste of the Show this season, and he is now lined up to make his official debut in a Tigers uniform. Horn made his overall MLB debut when he posted a 6.50 ERA across 18 innings with the Red Sox last season, and he bounced from the Sox to the Tigers to the Cardinals on waiver claims this offseason, only for Detroit to acquire him back in a trade with St. Louis last month.
