Braves add Brach to bullpen in trade with Orioles

BALTIMORE — The Atlanta Braves bolstered their bullpen for a run at the NL East title, obtaining right-hander Brad Brach on Sunday in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles for $250,000 of international signing bonus allotment.

Brach is 1-2 with a 4.85 ERA and owns a 10.80 ERA in eight games this month. Left-handers are hitting .342 against him, and he has allowed runs in 11 of 42 appearances.

Brach is only two years removed from making the American League All-Star team, though, has 11 saves this season and has worked as Baltimore’s closer for long stretches over the past two years.

“Look, he’s not having the year he’s had in the past. But we think there is some upside there based on what he’s done in the past,” Braves general manager Alex Anthopolous said. “He’s had some bad luck. There could be some things with his mix — some tweaks we could make to get him back to the high level he’s performed at in the past.”

Brach’s departure followed the trades of slugging infielder Manny Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers and of closer Zach Britton to the New York Yankees.

Brach, 32, has a $5,165,000 salary and is eligible for free agency after the World Series. The trade saves Baltimore just less than $1.75 million, and with the last-place Orioles at 32-74 and in rebuilding mode, it was a deal that was easy to make for vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette.

“It’s the first trade that we’ve made with an international roster slot coming back to the Orioles,” Duquette said. “We’ll put it to good use signing some young ballplayers that will help us get back to a competitive team.”

The deal is a sign the Orioles have changed their philosophy on building a winner. Baltimore traded away all but $500,000 of its allocation for 2017-18 and spent just $440,000 on international amateurs.

It seems Brach likely made out on the deal, too.

“He gets to go to a team that is pursuing a pennant race with young players, so he is a good veteran presence,” Duquette said.

Atlanta beat Los Angeles on Sunday to cut Philadelphia’s lead in the NL East to 1 1/2 games. Brach may not be the arm to get the Braves over the top, but he could be a key contributor if he shakes off the inconsistency he has displayed this season. At the very least, he won’t have to wonder about if and when the Orioles were going to swap him out.

“I’m glad that this waiting period is done and I know I’m going somewhere,” he said. “I know where I’m going to spend the rest of the year, which is definitely a huge burden off my mind.”