The Mets are working to sign free agent reliever Brad Hand to a two-year contract, per the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter). A contract is not yet signed, however, and the two sides may not be particularly close to resolution, writes MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter). Rosenthal adds two other sources in concert with Feinsand’s assessment that the two sides are not as close to a deal as it was first reported.
Hand unwittingly became an emblematic figure for this winter’s free agency when the Indians surprisingly chose to waive him rather than bring him back on a one-year, $10MM deal. When none of the other 29 teams claimed Hand, despite the seemingly favorable terms of his one-year pact, the tenor for the winter was set. Interest has picked up in recent weeks for Hand, however, as the Astros, Blue Jays, and Dodgers all expressed at least some degree of interest along with the Mets, obviously, and the Red Sox, we learned today from Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com (via Twitter).
The White Sox have expressed interest in the past, though they would seem to be less likely to win the bidding for Hand after their pricey accord with Liam Hendriks. Hand would be an equally impactful signing for the Mets, should they ultimately get him. The Mets bullpen ranked 21st in the Majors last season with a 5.01 ERA, 16th by fielding independent pitching with a 4.46 FIP. That said, Hand would buoy any bullpen after a 2020 season with a 2.05 ERA/1.37 FIP over 22 innings with a 33.7 percent strikeout rate, 4.7 percent walk rate, and 26.5 percent groundball rate.
I don’t know how they’ll play, but as of right now, it really seems like the Mets have a better team on paper than the Braves.
So they’ll finish behind the Braves is what you’re saying
lolzmets
That ended with the Wilpons….
Forever!
No the Mutts have been garbage for a long time, long before the WIlpons. This is the cycle of a losing team- sign or trade for a bunch of players and then blow it anyway. They never disappoint and this year will be the same.
TBD.
Dude chill out. They haven’t even played a game yet under new ownership and you’re already talking about them like they’re a successful dynasty or something
Lolzmets… Dude, to be a successful troll you have to actually know something about the team you’re trolling.
Spot on !! He misspelled his own handle !!
Its losermets !!
Yeah, because going to the WS 5 years ago = garbage for a long time.
The Mets only weaknesses right now are defense and starting pitching depth (if a starter gets injured). They are pretty much a complete team on paper. Their bullpen looks insanely good now. But the Braves have been the cream of the crop in this division and have added starting pitching depth. So I’m not willing to say the Mets are better until they prove it. But man, the Mets had an offseason for the record books.
Braves have a better rotation on paper until Noah comes back
@Von: I’m a little reticent to say the Mets are pretty much a complete team. I don’t have full confidence in the rotation and would love to see another depth move.
You know what you’re getting with deGrom and Carrasco, but I’m hesitant on Stroman and Peterson (missed a year and unproven, respectively), plus Thor will miss the first two months and will probably need time to get back on track. They need some more depth before I’d put them near the Braves.
@rct – They don’t need another depth move, though. They need another above average starter. They’re actually planning to go into the season where in the first half they’ll be giving at least 40% of their starts to Peterson (49 innings, career, above a weak AA season) and Matz (peak since 2016, poor 5 inning season), Sam McWilliams, and worse.
Put another way, do we really want a depth signing that if healthy is as good as Matz and Peterson? That’s a recipe for a limited W-L record.
Not to mention in Stroman they’re faking a #3 by bringing back a guy who has been below average or didn’t pitch in 3 of the last 5 seasons, and as good as Carrasco is, he’s had real health problems. What’s this rotation going to look like after 162 games?
It’s typical Alderson, but it’s awful team construction. On top of that, Lindor instead of Giminez at SS doesn’t move the needle much on defense, and they’re still well below average at 3B, LF, CF, and 1B, average at RF and 2B, and hard to say at C. Alderson somehow has barely moved the needle on defense. It’s unfortunate Cohen went with him after buying the team.
It really doesn’t seem like that. At all.
Maybe so, but unfortunately, the games are not played on paper.
I’ve been hoping for this… needed a lefty and this helps strengthen what was a shaky pen even further
Lugo, Hand, May, Diaz…yikes
Of course Mets get him. The minute the Yankees get some news about DJL.
Haha. I don’t think they synchronized the signings.
Is this a Yankees fan complaining the Mets have the backpage? Lol
Diaz and Hand are ?. Diaz was roughed up in 2019 and im not counting 2020. Also Hand may be bad due to decrease in velo. Lugo and May are solid though
Seems silly to competely ignore 2020. Diaz returned to his 2018 form. This pen looks real good.
Yeah you can’t completely ignore 2020… seems like some people want to count it when they want and not when they don’t
You have to use knowledge. Like everyone counts the dodgers winning the WS but nobody counts the marlins as a playoff team.
If he had a stellar 2019 and an atrocious 2020 would you still ignore 2020? Diaz admittedly still blew too many games last season, but for the most part, he pitched great.
Dear Perry Minasian,
Brooooooooooooooooo……. C’mon.
Regards,
Angel Fans
2 yr 15 mil?
I’d be he gets more than that. No way he does just half as well as Hendriks on an AAV level.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Hand gets 2 years $20M despite nobody wanting him at 1 year $10M. This is a unique case where owners know attendance revenue in 2021 will be very low compared to 2022, so they’re more willing to pay a guy for 2022. Not the offseason to be seeking a one year contract.
I think I really like Steve Cohen. Mets being aggressive.
You will probably love Cohen after Springer and Bauer are next
Not a chance
Maybe Springer not Bauer.
Mets will sign neither Bauer nor Springer. Bauer is too inconsistent for the amount of money he will command and Springer is a luxury item that, if the Mets are looking forward to next year’s free agents, they’ll pass on.
They have Lindor, Conforto, and Syndergaard in need of big, long-term deals next year. They’d be fools to add any more major deals.
A reasonable Mets post…nice! I think the Mets are *finally* acting like a major market club w. some FO smarts. They are waiting out Springer bc Toronto is their main competition, especially since DJLM just re-upped. People act like Nimmo is trash…but he has a career 130 OPS+ and is an elite OBP player. I’d far rather have Nimmo + Hand + flexibility to add mid-season than given in to a Springer contract for 6/$175m. The Met’s lineup is already top 5 in the league. Seriously….look at the projections.
For 2020…they were 1st in BAA, 2nd in OBP, 3rd in OPS. They replaced Ramos w. McCann and added Lindor. They have a bench player in Dom Smith who would start on most clubs w an above avg glove at 1B w. .a projected 900+ OPS. If they can split Smith & Alonso at 1B and platoon JD Davis & Guillorme at 3B, they don’t have a weak bat in the lineup.
Of course, if Cohen can add Kluber, Springer, & Hand…they are probably the NL East favorites….and a 95+ win team.
Certainly a great offseason. Now let’s see how they play. Hard to imagine the Mets not making the playoffs, but that would be fantastic.
Gonna be a banner couple of days when it comes to Ohio teams mis-managing relief assets.
Trout needs to demand a trade the minute the Angels don’t get Bauer. It seems to work for stars in the NBA.
Trout had a chance to play for anyone he wanted and knowingly chose an Angels team that hadn’t been able to build a winner around him. He’s not going to demand a trade.
Why? He had the chance to become a FA. Instead he signed an extension. Happy for him and all the money he got but I have no sympathy for missing the playoffs.
He made his bed. He’s making more in 2021 than all the (formerly Indians) currently. He deserves it (and more), but he does not deserve any sympathy.
I know some people despise teams that just fork out loads of cash on free agents but it sure makes for a fun off season. thank you padres and mets for giving us something to read and opine about
The Mets off-season deserves a……….Hand
Great… Springer will sign… with… the Blue Jays.
Jays fan is… happy.
Very… happy.
Why though? Springer is a solid player but they need pitching…starting, relief and backend so much more
Yeah, but Springer is a better get than Bauer. And I believe the Jays will definitely sign Springer.
Springer is *by far* a safer signing than Bauer. Bauer is looking for $30m-$35m AAV. I’d give him the Wheeler deal, but he want Scherzer $$. There are 3-4 pitchers that deserve $30m AAV…and Bauer sure isn’t one of them. He’s had 2-2.5 good seasons out of I think 7? Springer is a 5 tool player, plays a premium position, and despite being an Astros…he seems to be well liked.
Nice offseason by the Mets. It’s also nice to see a flurry of transactions, especially when players switch teams.
Thank god, now all they need to do is release daniel zamora and drew smith from their roster and their bullpen is set
Now the real question. Is he the closer or Diaz. I imagine if it’s Diaz that he’ll have a short leash
It’s got to be Diaz to start with. He was great last year and has thr biggest upside. I agree about the short leash though. With May and even Hand, the Mets have options.
Lugo can close too. I still don’t trust Diaz, but at least signing Hand would give three solid late-inning arms to fall back on.
Good answer! Total agreement
This is all conversational blue balls
3 more top relievers and their 4/5 starters won’t matter!
Hard to believe, because the Blue Jays were “in on” Hand.
Rosenthal has amended this tweet. Mets are “in” on Hand but no deal is close. So, there.
I don’t think it’s crucial to sign George Springer. He is already 31, injury prone and will cost a fortune. I’m fine with Nimmo in center and if he doesn’t have a good first half they could trade for a center fielder.
It’s not. Conforto/Nimmo/Smith is a great hitting outfield already. The defense will suffer, but Springer is not needed. He would be nice to have, of course, but he’s not a need.
Uh 31 is not old and Springer is extremely productive. Don’t think the Mets should go there, but you geniuses tear down everyone. Springer is very good.
I still think Toronto should have claimed him when he was waived, 1 year at $10 million for a proven closer and a much needed lefty…I guess it’ll be in-house mix and match again, Romano likely first up
Any team could of claimed him for $10 Million but didn’t for some reason. Did the Mets make him take a physical?
The *current* Mets FO is already on record that they would have picked up Hand off of waivers for $10m/1yr…but when he was made available, the Cohen purchase of the Mets wasn’t finalized. The Moron Collective (Jeffy + BVW + Fred Wilpon) were still in control, and they were pinching every penny they had. Too bad, I’d far rather have Hand at $10m/1yr than the $18m-$20m or so over 2 he is likely to get. His FB velo is down, but his other pitching metrics are still elite. As a 7th/8th inning guy, he will be solid.
With all the teams passing on him this makes me feel like this is a buyer beware scenario. Might not work out well for the Mets so you might be thankful he didn’t go to your team.
@ham77 Personally, I think teams just thought they’d be able to really squeeze players…teams may not have much to spend but it doesn’t seem to be affecting overall salaries, just limiting the number of options on where they can go
Did this article just change from signing hand to talking to hand?
Yup. Rosenthal was wrong on a deal being “close”.
no the dodgers have not signed anybody and its getting on my nerves! they need a bullpen.
Ed Kranepool and Cleon Jones for the win.
With all the Mets moves though are they better than the Braves and Dodgers not likely. Mets probably wish Mookie would’ve been a free agent
dodgers made a great choice to trade for him though alex vurdugo broke out and had a all star caliber season.
This is ridiculous lately, so and so about to sign with…, updated to their talking and ends up…signs somewhere completely different.
Your moniker says it all
this is weird but have yall realized that bellinger has a pattern going 2017 great season 2018 ok season 2019 great season 2020 ok season is that weird to yall
@ELV “Insiders” abilities or my posts?
It’s all about getting the bidders to anti up like LeMahieu just pulled
Dj just got a 3 million dollar pay raise off a pretty crappy 2018-2019 salary. Yankees just fleeced him.
Mlbnyyfan i agree. There has to be something that theses teams know about him that is scarring teams from signing him. I mean the pure dump from the Indians should be a sign. I guess we will see if everyone missed the boat on this guy or he proves everyone wrong.
Karinchak is more than capable of HANDling the job at a much lesser cost… there’s Cleveland’s motive
karinchak has two curveballs he is nasty the should not have even thought about signing hand the indians
His velo has declined the last 2 seasons although he still put up good numbers. That plus his age is why every team passed on his 10m. Just simply stating what I assume teams are looking towards the future and not what he did. Older lefty with declining velo isn’t a good thing but he’s still pretty effective imo. Dont look for him to close games anymore except for spot saves and whatnot, will be a good 6-7 inning guy, I’d imagine may and Diaz gets the 8-9.
I was worried about his velo too, but looking at his other pitches, dude cleans up with his slider. @TimRRyder posted this crazy stat: “since 2018, Brad Hand’s slider’s been worth -25 runs. just mindblowingly good”. Hand is still effective bc there is enough difference in speed between his FB and everything else, and his control is above average. I usually don’t like soft-tossers, but an older lefty soft-tosser who doesn’t walk people has value…especially amongst a bullpen of fireballers…mostly.
It looks like every team not named the Angels is bolstering their pitching staffs.
preach
Can the Mets still get Springer?
i mean steve cohen can get whatever he wants
You guys all sound like airhead millennial girls when you start your sentences with “I mean”.
What did I say?
what?
No one remembers what you said, because no one cares.
I love the keyboard warriors like you who try to get under people’s skin on public boards all day because you don’t have a life. The world will walk right past you like you weren’t even there, and all they’ll ever remember you by is just a needle in their side. Keep on keeping on, I guess.
Hire Rollie Fingers as bullpen coach. I’m sure Cohen will foot the bill.
And the utter apocalyptic destitution of the Jays offseason just got worse…
Dear Braves… do something! Shows us fans you’re committed to improving the team while other teams are improving significantly
It’s a bad idea, and I say this as an Indians fan. Hand’s velocity and peripherals point in a troubling direction. He was overused the last few years, and we’ve seen this before with Indians relievers. Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen, and Andrew Miller were all terrible when the team let them go sign deals in free agency.
N.L. East.
1.Braves 100 W vs. 62 L
2.Mets 94 W vs. 66 L
3.Nats 85 W vs. 70 L
4.Phillies 80 W vs. 76 L
5.Miami 73 W vs. 88 L
tight race between the Braves and Mets with the Nats and Philies providing some shadows.
The Mets will pass the Braves this year. Braves fans don’t want to admit it. Who is replacing ozuna? Even if the Braves get Ozuna back I wouldn’t pick them to win. Assuming both teams remain somewhat healthy.
Dude really, what is it with the constant infantile comments? I am a Mets fan, I want them to succeed and I think they are going to be fun to watch but this delusional comments are annoying. If you have something of substance to say, go right ahead otherwise give it a rest.
The Mets have a better team on paper. How I’m I being delusional.
What does being the “better team on paper” even mean? It’s a pointless argument. Teams change so much as the season progresses, how they are composed right now may not be anything like it will be at the end of the season
Have the Mets passed the Dodgers yet tho?
Idk. But dodgers should be scared.
Hand will get the job done when it comes to finishing.