Yhency Brazobán

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**Yhency Brazobán**

Los Angeles Dodgers — No. 43
Relief pitcher
Born: June 11, 1980 (1980-06-11) (age 28)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
August 5, 2004 for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Selected MLB statistics (through 2007)
Win-Loss	10-12
Earned Run Average	4.66
Strikeouts	97
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (2004-present)

Yhency José Brazobán (born June 11, 1980 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He throws and bats right-handed.

[edit] Minor league career

Brazobán was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Yankees on July 10, 1997 and proceeded to hit .319 as an outfielder for the Yankees Dominican Summer League, earning a spot on the Dominican League All-Star Team.

In 1999-2000 he made the Gulf Coast League All-Star team, hitting .320 and .303. Earned a promotion to Single-A Greensboro in 2000 and played there through 2002.

The Yankees converted Brazobán from an outfielder to a pitcher in 2003, sending him to three different minor league levels to work on his pitching: the Gulf Coast Yankees, Tampa Yankees and Trenton Thunder. Combined he was 2-4 with 18 saves in 47 relief appearances.

He was acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Yankees on December 13, 2003 along with Jeff Weaver and Brandon Weeden in exchange for right-hander Kevin Brown. He earned a call-up to the Dodgers in 2004 after a sensational year at "AA" Jacksonville and "AAA" Las Vegas.

[edit] Major League career

Brazobán made his Major League debut on August 5, 2004, working one scoreless inning of relief against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Primarily a setup man for Éric Gagné during the 2004 season, he became the Dodgers closer for a brief time in 2005 after Gagné was lost for the season with an injury. He established new Dodgers rookie records by appearing in 75 games and recording 21 saves.

Brazoban entered the 2006 season as a member of a strong Dodgers bullpen. He, and Danys Baez, who was acquired for the 2006 season but was later traded, were slotted to work as setup men for closer Éric Gagné. However, early in the year Brazoban went on the disabled list with an elbow injury that cost him the entire season. Brazoban under went Tommy John Surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow.

He worked his way back from the injury to rejoin the Dodgers bullpen in May 2007, but after a few appearances he suffered another serious arm injury and was lost for the rest of the 2007 season. After two serious injuries in a row, he opened the 2008 season in the minors with the Jacksonville Suns. He pitched well enough in the minors to earn a return to the Dodgers bullpen and he was called up on May 9.