Brad Brach has revealed the reason he was not with the New York Mets for the start of Summer camp and the opening series against the Atlanta Braves. Brach announced that both he and his pregnant wife Jenae, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this Summer. The Mets reliever initially thought he had a cold but then realized it was more serious.
Birth Of Kids
Brach and his wife welcomed their twin boys, Carson and Brody, on July 17. Both kids are doing well as Brach and his wife are both over the virus. Brach had minor symptoms, which included loss of taste.
“We’re so grateful that both of us were more than 14 days past (the onset), the doctor allowed us both to be there in the hospital together with them, while they were being born, and was able to stay the whole time. It couldn’t have worked out better, honestly,” Brach said.
Time with Mets
The Mets picked up Brach off waivers during the 2019 season. The right-handed reliever struggled after pitching on three different teams from 2018-19. However, Brach who was an All-Star in 2016 with the Baltimore Orioles, pitched well with the Mets in 2019 with a 3.68 ERA. The Mets brought Brach back on a one year contract with a player option for 2021.
Brach will likely be used in many different roles in 2020. As a former closer, he will bring the Mets more experience to a bullpen that had a historically bad 2019 season.
Role With Mets
When activated off the injured list, he will join a very crowded bullpen that fell apart on Saturday in their loss to Atlanta Braves. Closer Edwin Diaz blew his first save of the season. Hunter Strickland then struggled in the tenth inning with the new extra-inning rule.
With Seth Lugo not available after pitching two innings on Friday, the Mets missed Brad Brach in their loss. Brach threw a bullpen session this past Saturday and he felt better than expected. Brach is expected to throw another bullpen session then face live hitters. The Mets have not announced when Brach will be activated.
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