The Atlanta Braves selected the contracts of John Brebbia and Eli White as their expanded roster September callups. Many were speculating that Daysbel Hernandez would get the call.

Brebbia was released by the White Sox in Friday and signed a minor-league deal in secret with Atlanta. I say “in secret” because it was not reported. Nobody knew this guy was with Atlanta until this morning when they announced he would be getting the call to fill one of the two extra roster spots for September.

Why did the Braves choose John Brebbia over Daysbel Hernandez?

One concern with Daysbel Hernandez is his high walk-rate. That may be one of the reasons the Braves chose to go with John Brebbia, the proven commodity. Hernandez has walked 5.5 batters per nine over the course of his Triple-A career. While he is riding a six-inning scoreless streak, he is still walking batters at an alarming rate.

What John Brebbia brings to the Atlanta Braves in September

Brebbia is 34 years old and has seven major-league seasons logged.

In 54 appearances with the Chicago White Sox, Brebbia has a dreadful 6.29 ERA this season with an 0-6 record.

Brebbia’s 4.43 FIP could indicate a regression to the good side for Atlanta. Brebbia has enough of a sample size to overlook the rough season he was having with Chicago. There has to be a severe contrast in energy between the lowly Chicago White Sox and the postseason-hopeful Atlanta Braves. Brebbia went from making history on a historically bad team to having a chance to help the Braves make a postseason run.

Over his career, Brebbia has a 3.82 ERA over 348.1 innings pitched. He has kept walks under control, which may be the reason we aren’t seeing Daysbel Hernandez. Brebbia has a career 2.8 walks per nine with a 3.1 BB/9 mark in 2024.

In 106.1 innings between 2022-2023, Brebbia posted a stellar 3.47 ERA with 2.7 walks per nine.

Brebbia has 58 strikeouts in 48.2 innings pitched this season with two saves. Sadly, those two saves make up a pretty large percentage of the White Sox’s victories.