2025 Report Card: Huascar Brazobán, RP

Huascar Brazobán, RP

Player Data: 29 (05/02/1997) B/T: R/R

Primary Stats: 52 G (3 GS), 63 IP, 3.57 ERA, 1.238 WHIP, 5-2, 57 SO, 27 BB
Advanced Stats: 113 ERA+, 21.8% K%, 10.3% BB%, 3.91 xERA, 4.04 FIP, 4.20 xFIP, 0.4 fWAR, 0.6 bWAR

2025 Salary: $780,000

Grade: C

2025 Review

Huascar Brazobán’s 2025 season with the New York Mets was defined by heavy usage and solid-if-unspectacular run prevention. In his age-35 campaign, Brazobán logged a career-high 63 innings over 52 appearances, serving as a mainstay in the middle-to-late innings. His results were respectable: a 3.57 ERA, translating to an ERA+ of 113.

Brazobán outperformed his expected results. His basic peripheral metrics were higher than his ERA, with a 4.04 FIP and a 4.20 xFIP. His strikeout rate also declined slightly, with a K% of 21.8%, down from 23.5% the previous year. Coupled with a still-high BB% of 10.3%, his K-BB% fell to 11.5%. While his walk rate slightly improved, his strikeout rate remained below the typical standard for an elite reliever. He continued to rely less on overpowering hitters and more inducing weak contact. As a durable “long man,” he was able to handle multiple innings, providing valuable flexibility for the relief corps.

A major storyline of his season was the dramatic shift in his pitch mix. Brazobán abandoned his four-seam fastball (12.6%) and cutter (12.7%) in favor of leaning heavily on his sinker (36.7%) and changeup (38.1%). The adjustment paid off, helping him generate more ground balls—5.3% more, to be exact. His sinker was central to his 49.4% ground-ball rate and his ability to neutralize hitters by inducing weak contact on the ground.

Brazobán’s primary vulnerability in 2025 stemmed from his inability to miss bats, which created a precarious margin for error. His overall swinging strike rate (SwStr%) was a roughly-average 11.6% and his whiff percentage was a career-worst 23.9%. The whiff rate placed him in the 38th percentile, down from the 86th and 82nd percentile in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

This issue was compounded by the changes in his pitch mix. While his sinker successfully generated ground balls, the changeup, his most frequently thrown pitch, yielded poor results. It failed to generate enough swings-and-misses to compensate for other deficiencies. Without a pitch that consistently missed bats, Brazobán was largely forced to pitch to contact.

Brazobán’s 2025 campaign did not come without turbulence. His season included a mid-year slump that led to a demotion. After a stellar start and a sub-1.70 ERA through mid-June, the righty struggled in late June and July, posting a 10.66 ERA over 14 games from June 19 to the end of July. As a result, the Mets optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse on July 29. Manager Carlos Mendoza indicated the goal was to stretch him out into a multi-inning reliever capable of throwing up to 40 pitches.

His struggles continued initially in Triple-A, including one particularly rough outing in which he was shelled for seven earned runs. Nevertheless, the organization continued their course of action, recalling Brazobán a number of times in August and September when the Mets needed fresh arms. He routinely covered multiple innings for the big-league club and finished out the year on the active roster.

Altogether, Brazobán met the statistical standard for a quality reliever with his sub-3.60 ERA and proved valuable thanks to his ability to pitch frequently and in mid-leverage situations. His reliance on the sinker and effectiveness in stranding runners were his greatest strengths, but his mid-season slide and diminished whiff rate remain notable concerns for future performance.

2026 Preview

Brazobán is projected to earn $1.3 million (per MLB Trade Rumors) in his first year of arbitration in 2026 and is a near-lock to remain with the Mets. The key question for management will be his role, given his outstanding performance in multi-inning outings. His splits illustrate how middle relievers are managed based on execution: when effective, he was able to stretch out. In 16 appearances covering more than one inning, he allowed just one earned run, registering a remarkable 0.29 ERA across 33 1/3 innings. In his ten outings of at least two innings (23 IP), he did not allow a single run.

Importantly, this success wasn’t limited to blowout games. Of his ten two-inning-plus appearances, only three came in games with a run differential greater than four. This profile suggests he may have finally found a place as a long reliever.

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