Huascar Brazoban was not surprised he was traded before Tuesday’s deadline, but the hard-throwing reliever didn’t expect his landing spot to be with the Mets.
“I kept hearing rumors and rumors, but I never heard the Mets,” Brazoban said through an interpreter before throwing a scoreless inning in the Mets’ 8-3 loss Wednesday to the Twins. “Once I heard of the news, I was really excited because I pitched here in the city, so I kind of know how it is around here.”
The 34-year-old righty arrived from the Marlins with a 2.93 ERA and 1.011 WHIP in 30 ²/₃ innings this season.
The 34-year-old Dominican Republic native offers the Mets another reliever capable of working multiple innings in a game.
“I’m the type of pitcher that competes, goes out there to try to win every day,” Brazoban said. “Just attack the hitters every single time I’m out on the mound.”
The Mets were trailing 8-2 entering the ninth inning when Mets manager Carlos Mendoza summoned Brazoban for his team debut.
He worked a scoreless frame with one walk and two strikeouts, reaching 99.1 mph on his final pitch on an inning-ending strikeout of Twins cleanup batter Matt Wallner.
“Good. The changeup, the life on the fastball, we’ve seen it. I think we faced him right after the [All-Star] break in Miami,” Mendoza said, recalling Brazoban’s two scoreless outings against his team on July 20 and July 22. “Really good fastball. At times it looks like hitters have a tough time picking it up. The cutter, changeup, clean inning, good inning.”
Brazoban made one scoreless relief appearance in the postseason last year for the Marlins against the Phillies, but he is excited to have been dropped into another playoff race this year with the Mets.
“It’s exciting. Last year with the Marlins we made it to the playoffs, and it was really a beautiful time,” Brazoban said. “When you’re trying to pitch for a playoff spot, the games start to heighten and it becomes even more exciting.”