SF Giants sign former Pirates, Yankees pitcher to a minor league deal

The SF Giants added some pitching depth in the upper minors this week. According to the team's transaction log, they have signed veteran pitcher JT Brubaker to a minor league contract and assigned him to the Sacramento River Cats.

SF Giants sign former Pirates, Yankees pitcher to a minor league deal

Brubaker began the season with the New York Yankees. He was designated for assignment earlier this month, and released a couple of days later. Brubaker's foray into free agency did not last long, as he now lands with the Giants organization.

The Giants have already had success with a couple of minor league signings this season. Joey Lucchesi and Matt Gage are a couple of examples of relievers who could be pitching their way onto the 2026 bullpen. Both have been effective. In particular, Gage has completed 18.2 scoreless innings this year, including 13 innings with San Francisco.

Adding an experienced arm like Brubaker is a low-risk move that can have a nice payoff. He was a sixth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of the University of Akron in 2015.

Brubaker came up as a starting pitcher and has posted a 3.55 ERA across seven minor league seasons. During that time, he has made 115 appearances, including 110 starts out of the rotation.

The right-handed pitcher debuted with the Pirates in 2020, where he recorded a 4.94 ERA in 11 outings. He remained in the rotation through the end of 2022.

Brubaker underwent Tommy John surgery at the start of the 2023 season. He was shipped to the Yankees in 2024 while he continued to recover from surgery. However, he sustained a rib fracture early in the year that kept him on the injured list for much of last season.

The 31-year-old reliever made it back to the mound this year with New York. He pitched to a 3.38 ERA with 10 strikeouts and nine walks in 16 frames. While the ERA would solid, the Yankees likely placed him on waivers due to a low strikeout rate (5.6 K/9) and a high walk rate (5.1 BB/9).

Brubaker features a low-90's sinker with a mid 80's slider and a high 80's changeup. The slider is his go-to secondary, as it has generated a 37.5 percent whiff rate this year.

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