Ryan Brasier's revival with Dodgers provides another moment to laugh at Red Sox

The Los Angeles Dodgers have gotten unexpected bullpen help from a previously incompetent arm in Ryan Brasier, formerly of the Red Sox, where he rode a rookie 2018 season to the World Series.

He was designated for assignment, however, after 20 games with the Sox in 2023 because he was sporting a 7.29 ERA, 4.37 FIP and 1.57 WHIP. Ugly. For his career in Boston, the right-hander owned a 4.55 ERA, 3.79 FIP and 1.25 WHIP with 211 strikeouts in 209.2 innings. He was largely unspectacular.

In fact, he was pretty much your average MLB reliever ... until his last 27 games of action. After the Sox cut him loose, the Dodgers picked him up because they needed anybody and everybody to help out their ailing bullpen. A living, breathing human would've sufficed.

Brasier's exceeded all expectations and represents another Red Sox defector to transform his game in Dodger Blue. He has a 0.95 ERA, 2.57 FIP and 0.71 WHIP in 28.1 innings since debuting on June 21.

For a while, fans kept doing their thing, gassing up Brasier's early success with the Dodgers as if it was going to translate into long-term contributions to help the team go on a deep playoff run. Usually, it's nothing more than your classy knee-jerk fandom kicking in to show up everybody else. But now Dodgers fans have legitimate bragging rights.

Ryan Brasier's revival with Dodgers provides another moment to laugh at Red Sox

It's especially funny because ... the Red Sox need a reliever right now! Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin (former Dodgers!) have been good for Boston, but John Shreiber is experiencing a bit of a sophomore slump, while manager Alex Cora has trotted out seven different pitchers who have made 10 or more starts this season.

This version of Brasier helping bridge the gap to Jansen/Martin would've certainly helped in the team's quest to make the AL Wild Card ... instead of quite the opposite when Brasier appeared in Sunday's 7-4 win over the Red Sox.

He was booed upon taking the mound, then tossed a clean inning on 16 pitches, striking out two batters.

Brasier didn't pitch in the big leagues from May 15-June 20. The Dodgers signed him to a minor-league deal on June 5, put him at Triple-A for a few games, called him up on June 21, and have reaped the rewards (he's their favorite fastball-slider combo reliever).

For whatever reason, the Sox couldn't capitalize, and Brasier's lowered his ERA from 7.29 to 3.65, his FIP from 4.37 to 3.33, and his WHIP from 1.57 to 1.07. Now you can gloat, Dodgers fans.