Ben Brown Has Hands Open to ‘Whatever Opportunity Is Ahead’
There may not be more of a hot-cold pitcher in baseball than Ben Brown, who now has seven outings of two or fewer earned runs allowed and seven of five earned runs or more this season. The latest of those came last night, when he was recalled to serve as the bulk man behind opener Ryan Brasier. Brown allowed six earned on seven hits, two of which cleared the outfield wall, over just four innings of work.
The big righty’s Baseball Savant page illustrates the disparity in his performance all too clearly, with almost everything either well above or well below the 50th percentile. His fastball velo is good and plays up due to his extension; he gets lots of whiffs and strikeouts without walking too many; and he generates a decent number of grounders. But Brown also serves up barrels like a bourbon distillery, leading to far too much hard contact.
I know it’s horse glue at this point, but going to the changeup more frequently still looks like the best path forward. It’s been his best pitch so far, though it’s probably more accurate to say it’s the lesser of three evils, and it’s evident that going with a kick-change has improved its performance. But at a certain point, there’s no room left to keep letting him figure it out in Chicago.
“I got to start helping the team win,” Brown told reporters after the loss. “I think that’s the most important thing. I’m kind of a non-contributor when things like [that] happen tonight, and it’s unfortunate. Whatever opportunity is ahead of me, I’ve got to be better to earn that and to have that opportunity.”
Is it just me, or does he seem to be indicating that he knows he’s auditioning for other teams as well as his own. After all, Brown came to the Cubs in a 2022 trade that saw David Robertson head to the Phillies. Incidentally, the Phils just resigned the 40-year-old reliever for the remainder of the season. Brown’s comments after the game made it quite clear that he’s very aware of the general circumstances of the next few days.
“It’s a fun time of the year for guys that are in High-A and Double-A and anticipating movement,” Brown said. “For a guy like me, I’ve obviously never went through a trade deadline at the big leagues before, and it’s just cool.
“It’s cool to be on a team that’s in a winning position, and I’m kind of just having my hands open to anything that’s coming down my way.”
This reads to me very much like a young man trying to redirect a lot of other thoughts that are a great deal less positive than what he’s portraying. That’s probably a good thing, as reframing can keep you in a much better place mentally. But when it comes to the Cubs, no amount of mental gymnastics can mitigate the fact that their search for pitching didn’t get any easier Monday night.
Whether it’s Brown’s value to other teams or the fact that they stumbled yet again in the type of bullpen game that has become a bit too frequent lately, Jed Hoyer has little leverage. With just nine days left until the deadline and very few perceived needle-movers on the market, the lame-duck executive has his work cut out for him.
