Mets Among Final Suitors for Brad Hand
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the market for left-hander Brad Hand is drawing to a close, with three teams — one of which being the New York Mets — remaining involved in discussions.
Per Morosi, “[Hand] has drawn interest from the Astros, Blue Jays, and Mets in the last 48 hours.” On Friday, reports began swirling of Hand and New York nearing an agreement. Shortly thereafter, those reports were clarified to reflect ongoing talks with interested teams.
Since the start of the 2017 season, Hand, 30, has been one of the most effective relievers in baseball, pitching to a 2.61 ERA (2.87 FIP) with 323 strikeouts, 70 walks, 0.90 home runs allowed per nine innings over 224 appearances (230.2 innings pitched).
His 5.5 wins above replacement over that span rank seventh among qualified MLB relief pitchers.
In recent years, he’s been just as dominant (2.95 ERA/2.40 FIP, 113 K, 22 BB over 79.1 innings since 2019), relying on his otherworldly slider (.204 batting average against, 42.6% whiff rate in 2019; .139 BAA, 38.6% whiff rate in 2020) and working it off his deceptive four-seamer (4.8 inches of horizontal movement above average in 2020; statistically elite).
The Mets are in desperate need of left-handed help in the back-end of their bullpen. Whether Hand and his expected two-year, $20 million-plus price tag fit New York’s plans figures to be determined in short order.
We’ll keep you posted with new developments as they break.
