3:30pm: Hand is indeed discussing multi-year deals with teams, Jesse Rogers of ESPN tweets.
11:53am: The Mets’ interest in lefty Brad Hand was already known, but SNY’s Andy Martino provides some additional context on the club’s pursuit, reporting that New York has been seeking a one-year pact that would pay Hand a bit less than the $10MM price point at which all 30 clubs passed on claiming him earlier this offseason. Hand, however, is seeking at least a two-year arrangement.
Two years for Hand has seemed plausible throughout the winter, and recent multi-year pacts for Blake Treinen ($17.5MM total) and Liam Hendriks ($54MM total) only further lend credence to the idea that he’d be justified seeking two or more years despite going unclaimed at season’s end. Notably, Martino suggests in a follow-up tweet that had the Mets’ sale to Steve Cohen gone through just days earlier, the team almost certainly would’ve claimed Hand. The Mets’ sale was finalized on Nov. 6; Hand cleared waivers on Oct. 30.
At the time Hand cleared waivers, there was surely some hesitancy from owners to commit to any notable salary additions given the uncertainty of what the upcoming 2021 season would look like. There’s still no way of definitively knowing, of course, but commissioner Rob Manfred recently instructed clubs to prepare for a full 162-game slate and for Spring Training to start on time. We don’t yet know what fan attendance will look like, however, which has hampered spending and slowed the free-agent market.
That said, there’s been plenty of interest in Hand — clearly just not at the multi-year level he prefers. In addition to the Mets, he’s been linked to the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Astros and White Sox. Reports tying Hand to L.A. and Chicago predated that pair’s respective signings of Treinen and Hendriks, so it’s possible that the extent of their interest has changed.
Based on track record, Hand stands out as the clear top lefty reliever on the market. He’s pitched to a combined 2.70 ERA and 2.79 SIERA over the past five seasons while striking out exactly one-third of the hitters he’s faced against just an 8.1 percent walk rate.
However, Hand did show some red flags in 2020, as his once 94.1 mph average fastball velocity dipped to 91.8 mph — his second straight year of a notable decline. He also benefited from a career-low .255 average on balls in play, and Hand certainly can’t be expected to go an entire season — or even 22 straight innings — without allowing a single home run again as he did in 2020. Today’s teams are far more concerned with what they project a player will do over the life of his contract than what the player has done leading up to said contract, which may help explain the disconnect between Hand’s track record his market to this point.
It seems Cohen may not want to go over the luxury tax after all. In his defense, the Mets seem like a pretty complete team already. While there are still weaknesses, I think they filled all their holes.
I am pretty sure that Cohen wants to save going over the lux tax for 2022 because he knows it’s unnecessary to go over now whenever you have extensions on the horizon like Conforto and Syndergaard. I think some cheaper signings like Kluber and JBJ are reasonable, but maybe even some budget trades could be of help to them.
Yes. Smart. I think he had a brilliant offseason.
He’s definatley improved the Mets more than the Wilpons ever could’ve. Just looking at the list of Lindor, Carrasco, May, McCann…. that’s insane, and he’s not even done yet.
We all just have to remember that this is mostly Alderson and Porter’s doings. Cohen only allows it which is something that never could’ve gone on under the Wilpons.
@Rangers29 I think people are underestimating the incredible amount of luck here. 90% of the league is cutting costs,Nd the Mets get new owner with deep pockets. Sandy and Porter are making good moves, but honestly it’s easy to spend in this market wjen you were the only team not impacted by the pandemic revenue loss.
The timing was perfect. No doubt.
Jackie Bradley Jr would be a great signing. Nimmo Conforto and Bradley Jr would be a good outfield
They should sign James Paxton and shift him to the pen. At this point injuries have derailed his starter career. Might be able to convince him to do so just like it saved Brad Hand, Andrew Miller.
Bringing in cheaper depth would be good too. Kluber, Wood, taking a chance on Trevor Williams or Brad Peacock.
Idk, I think Paxton might be too expensive to sign just to try him out in the pen directly after. A project like that should cost less than 10 mil. However, I do agree that it should be considered.
JBJ would be able to surveil their outfield well (unlike their other options), and provide them with some defensive ability that they don’t have a lot of on the team.
Kluber imo would be the best guy to bring in as a starter because of the experience. He has pitched in tight spots, and I think he has the stuff to show that he’s still a dang good starter.
Two problems with Jackie Bradley, Jr. on the Mets.
1. He can’t hit.
2. He’s lefthanded.
I think Cashner has a lot left in his tank. He is better than his record shows.
If you can’t hit, who cares whether you are lefthanded or right-handed.
I’m a switch hitter myself- I am equally good hitting from either side of the plate.
Nah. Nimmo has to leave in a trade (so do Matz and Gsellman). The everyday OF must be Dom Smith, George Springer, Michael Conforto.
@alproof
But but but…@MetsFan22 says that Nimmo is a Top 5 CF.
Omg, will you stop it? Do the Marlins have even one player better than Nimmo? You have a weird obsession. Just admit you are wrong. Nimmo is a solid ball player and very comparable to a Shin Soo Choo in his prime.
Marlins have multiple players better than Nimmo. Nimmo would be our 4th OF or platoon. He does not fit what we do.
Shin Soo Choo in his prime batted .300 (.278 lifetime), hit 20 HRs, and would steal 20 bases with his OBP. And Choo was a good baserunner. Nimmo is not comparable at all.
Nimmo would be a 4th OFr on the Marlins only if you were the manager. You’d promptly be fired. No major league team believes the old school nonsense that you evaluate players by. It’s the stuff of talk radio, but contrary to the beliefs of every front office.
Hmmmm….he doesn’t run bases well, despite having nice speed. He doesn’t field the ball well. He doesn’t hit well when he swings.
So how is this guy considered so good?
I didn’t realize that running bases, playing defense, and the ability to be successful when you have to swing the bat was “old school”.
But I get why you stats guys fight so hard for guys like Nimmo. You all bought into your Little League coach’s instructions telling you guys that couldn’t hit, to crowd the plate to get a walk because it’s just as good as a hit. You all didn’t realize that coach wanted you to get on base to roll over the lineup over for his star hitters to come up. Or perhaps Daddy was your coach, which in that case, you didn’t realize that he needed to justify why you were batting first even though you couldn’t hit, and you were playing SS because “positions don’t matter”. You didn’t know that it was him playing you over the star kids that were more deserving, and him looking for an excuse every time parents questioned his decision making.
This is why all you stats guys think none of these things matter. Only to you all can a guy suck at so many things, but you argue that he’s a good player when he does one thing that is essentially going to the plate and praying for a walk because he can’t hit well. You all relate to that.
And canos money goes back on the books
True, but don’t you think they could use Hand to better fill all their holes?
There are more holes that RP… CF is in need of a major upgrade, hence all the JBJ and Springer discussions. But Hand would address one hole for sure
Hey Joey, I think RunDMC made a poorly executed joke lol.
CF need defensive help but for offensive production Nimmo is top 5. Idk if you really say that’s a “hole”.
That’s y I feel a trade for josh hader would be smart. Cheap like Diaz is and if u can extend both Diaz and hader, that’s a damn good 1-2 in the back end. Plus money to still sign kluber, jbj, and marisnick. I’m still hopeful will DH will in effect to save us. Would a cherry on top of an amazing offseason. Great days ahead for us met fans. Amazin days for us DIE HARDS.
What do they have to give up for Hader? Subtracting from the ML roster makes no sense and I don’t wanna give up any top prospects. I’d likely pass on Hader as the price will be too steep.
@Rangers29
Poorly executed? Eduard Delacroix (Michael Jeter) was poorly executed in The Green Mile. My comment was a double entendre. And if joeyrocafella thinks that Hand would address one hole for sure — kid’s gotta lot to learn.
Sorry, slow news cycle.
I got the joke, but I could see where people would get confused. Guess that’s their fault though.
BTW, I see what you did there. I bet you could say stuff like that all day lmao.
Dominic Smith for Hader would probably get it done. That might be a bit steep for the Mets, but on the other hand, Smith doesn’t really fit in the Mets’ lineup, especially if they sign a CFer and push Nimmo to LF.
Maybe Smith for Hader and a RH complement to JBJ? Corey Ray, perhaps?
No way! DH is coming next year if not this and we’ll regret trading Smith when it does… plus I wouldn’t ever trade a potential superstar everyday player for a reliever.
A Diaz/Hader R/L combo in the bullpen could be deadly. And Hader can pitch multiple innings, which in turn could help the Mets still-thin rotation.
I like both Dom and JD Davis, but they’re both spare parts right now. If moving them gets the right pieces for the Mets to win a World Series, I’m all for it.
Nimmo is a top 5 CF only in your mind
Fangraphs has Nimmo as 3rd in the NL, 9th overall.
fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=CF
Nimmo Top 5 in CF? Wait…5 teams in the NL East. Okay, I guess he’s Top 5 in the NL East, so I get it.
Also with injuries now more than ever in MLB it is nice to have the added depth. If they can keep them even with other additions.
Fangraphs has Nimmo as 3rd in the NL, 9th overall.
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You can’t count on FG because they commingle stats from all three OF positions. The issue is that Nimmo is not a CF. His UZR/150 is -12.5 with -14 DRS in only 1,027 innings. Pretty bad.
And he’s never had more than 350 Innings in CF. He’s really not a CFer.
I’d be much happier with George Springer in CF and Nimmo in LF. Nimmo’s actually a pretty good defensive leftfielder. But, I’m thinking a Springer contract may be out of reach — even for Steve Cohen.
Jackie Bradley, Jr. would be a good defensive-minded backup plan, but he’s an abysmal hitter, and he’s lefthanded to boot. He’ll just be too expensive for what he brings to the table. If Mets are out on Springer, I’d rather they go for a cheap defensive CF (Pillar?) and go bigger on another starting pitcher (Odorizzi, Tanaka, Kluber?).
I’m trading Nimmo before Smith
1b/dh is by far the easiest position to replace. It wouldnt cost much to pick up a Josh Bell or Matt Olsen.
Josh Bell already traded to my Nats and Matt Olsen wont be traded unless mets offer something good
The DH is a much needed option for the Mets. Dom is a better glove at 1B, so as long as Pete Alonso can adjust to being a part-time DH, they can split time and maximize their talent. They also have JD Davis who is a bat w/o a position. Maybe he plays 3B, but word is that Guillorme is well liked and might get a shot at 3B, or McNeil. I still think McNeil at 2B, JD & Guillmoe splitting time at 3B is the best setup.
Nimmo is very underrated for them. He is a mediocre defensive CF, but he gets on base a ton and he takes a bunch of pitches and frustrates pitchers.. Conforto obviously needs to be in there. Springer clearly is an upgrade, though I’d rather make sure Conforto is extended, Lindor is extended, and (if healthy) Syndergaard are extended.
Springer must really not want to land in TOR to circle back around to the Mets. I think the Mets continue to wait bc NO ONE is signing right now, none of the top FA at least. The Mets are one of the few clubs that are willing to spend $$ and so far have done it smartly. That Hendrik signing was a huge overpay.
Another starter, even a project or a buy-low candidate, is necessary, imo. Same with another OF. They don’t need any big names, but they do need a little depth in both places.
Hand would be an awesome pick-up, though, if they can manage the $$.
BeSt TeAm In ThE nL!
Don’t forget as of now Canos money gets put back on the books for next year and the next. Going over the luxury tax may already have happened for those years
Yankees could of taken a chance on Hand instead of paying more for Britton especially if they are on a budget.
Britton is also way better than hand and doesnt have injury history
What?
Hand has appeared in 82 games, 72 games, 69 games, 69 games, and 60 games from 2016-2019. He appeared in 23 games out of 60 last year.
As a set up man he appeared in 40-50% of games.
As a closer closer to 40% of games.
Even with injuries here and there’s hes durable and played.
Also 2017 and 2018 Britton was limited due to injury……only played 38 and 41 games those seasons. He had injuries last year too with the hamstring
Not really proving your point.
People should be hesitant of Hand’s velo drop imo. If relievers are the most volatile position in baseball, then relievers with velo drops are even more volatile. Elbow or shoulder concerns?
Rangers I know velocity drop is an indicator teams look see as a flag for decline but he pitched quite well with that decline last year
It’s called being crafty, but that doesn’t mean that his injuries have disappeared.
Hand at 2/15 would be a good deal for a team like the halos
Hope Colome also gets 2yrs, just not with the Twins. He is a crafty one who would get WSox hitters to chase junk.
I can’t imagine that the Giants won’t consider 2/$16 for Hand.
He should go on a one year to the Orioles, Blue Jays or Cardinals. Anything for two years is bush.
A Brad in the Hand is worth 2 years with any of these birds in the bush.
Phillies will sign Hand only for him to injure himself in spring training, or take a line drive to the testicles. Both of these things happened to Phillies relievers last season.
Or pull a David Robertson
Phillies BETTER get their guy! All this talk a few years ago, wanting to trade Franco, and a bunch of guys to SD for him…Now he’s a Free agent and their not even making an attempt? He is what Philly needs right now MORE than REALMUTO
Maybe we should get together and send Middleton a crowbar so he can get his wallet open. Just a thought.
A lefty reliever is more important than the best catcher in baseball?
I still don’t understand why every team passed on Hand in waivers.
It still blows my mind considering the braves signed will Smith for 3yrs 40 million
The Braves overpaid for Will Smith. Take a look at how many relief pitchers are still out there. Most, not all, of them are 1-1.2 innings per outing. How many MILLIONS of dollars is it really worth paying these guys? I’m not saying to pay them league minimum by any stretch but if a top 10 RP is “worth” any more than $10,000,000.00 per yr for the lack of work (innings pitched) then practically every #3 starter should be paid at least that.
Because they want the players to sweat a bit and sign 1yr deals for short money. We’re a month away from ST and the clubs have the players right where they want them.
The braves need to throw 2yr 16 million at him with an option or a 2 million dollar buy out
I heard the A’s need a closer…
And they’re actively in the market for one that won’t cost them anything
Mets – 2/17.5M.
That’s about what I was thinking. 2 years / 17-18 million should do it for the Mets, or any other interested team
Hendriks really isn’t much better than him not sure why their value is so different
Stats might not seem too different, but it’s because Hand has had a drastic velo drop recently while Hendriks is still pumping electric stuff by hitters.
Yeah it has to be the velo drop. Teams are paying for future performance and they think Hendriks is better positioned for it since he’s seemingly at the top of his game right now.
Although if my choices were Hand 2Y/$18M or Hendriks 4Y/$54M (ignoring the weird option for simplicity’s sake), then I’m taking Hand every time because the guaranteed money is 3x less and the gap between them isn’t big enough to account for that.
“Today’s teams are much more concerned with what they project a player will do over the life of his contract than what the player has done leading up to said contract.” Amen. As it should be. Now if someone could just explain this to half the fans out there. Let’s start with those clamoring for their team to sign LaMahieu, trade for Arenado, or toss 300 million dollars contracts at every under 30 free agent superstar.
Two years at $15M and that’s my final offer
blue jays 2 year 18 million
If the Mets can’t get Springer and Hand I’ll be satisfied with JBJ/Pederson,Hand and Kluber.
You’ve got Hand in there twice, fyi
Put your hands together
Mets should’ve just claimed him they need him so bad with no left handed options in the pen unless matz gets moved to the pen full time
If (when) Matz gets moved to the pen full time, they still will have no left handed options. The best option for him is a minor league option
The Mets hadn’t yet transitioned ownership, so the Coupons/Wilpons were still in control and they didn’t want to spend $10m/1yr on Hand. A couple/few weeks later Steve Cohen took over and hired Sandy. Both Steve and Sandy wanted Hand, but they weren’t in control, so the Mets under Wilpon control let Hand pass through waivers.
Mets should give him $16M for 2 yrs. They need a reliable back end LHP
Springer over Hand
They are set with relievers.
It’s interesting to me how many Mets fans want more relievers. I think it’s still trauma from 2019, or just greed now that they have money to spend, but the Mets bullpen is real solid already. Any further adds should be in CF and 3B, both for defensive reasons.
Only lefties in Mets bullpen are Daniel Zamora and (maybe) Steven Matz. I wouldn’t trust either one. They need a quality lefthander.
Totally agree Von, not an area of concern but if value presents itself you can still pounce –
Id just re-sign J Wilson, he seems to have found a home out there
CF SP JWilson with the last 20 mill which leaves a little cushion for deadline deals
Works for me. Pillar, Tanaka, JWilson?
@Von: It’s trauma, but not just from 2019. It dates back to (at least) Armando Benitez, Bradon Looper, etc.
Idk. Literally all 30 teams could have had Brad Hand for 1/$10m a few weeks ago and they all took a hard pass. I have all the same concerns I had then and maybe a bit more.
Maybe you should post your tired narrative about the Realmuto trade for like the 500th time.
Do you offer anything here besides just sadly picking fights with people who barely acknowledge your presence?
@tom nah fam. He also corrects people’s grammar.
I’d challenge you to a battle of wits but I see you’re unarmed
Problem with Brad Hand is that he’s a dumpster fire in clutch
Hendricks coming off the market basically leaves Hand, Alex Colome, Kirby Yates and Trevor Rosenthal as the closer market in free agency. I would like to see any one of them closing games for the Red Sox next season
Lol imagine thinking a closer makes a difference when you have a .500 team. Let D Hernandez close.
If a Closer makes no difference then what did the White Sox just pay $54 million for?
Eckersely’s closing for the Sox this year. Very versatile; broadcast 7 innings, get dressed, pitch the 9th…..it works. ….
I really think the Mets should give HAND a JOB
Cleveland handed Hand to both league’s. No one forced their hand or raised their hand. They sat on their hands because their hands were tied. Hand never had a hand in it. Now teams are scrambling to sign Hand. Let’s give em all a hand.
But what is the sound of one Hand with the clap?
Avoid the clap – Jimmy Duggan
Jim Abbott approves this message.
Why didn’t anyone claim him? Did I miss something? Last I checked he was pretty solid from San Diego on, but I don’t pay attention to the Indians so I could be wrong
Two main reasons:
1. Velocity drop. In 2018 when he was with the Padres he was averaging 94.1 mph on his fastball and last year he averaged 91.8 mph, so for someone who is going to be 31 years old this year, they see that as the beginning of his decline.
2. Teams are cheap. Besides the aforementioned Padres no one is really spending big this year and if someone claimed Hand it meant adding $10M to payroll. I assume whoever gets him it will be on a two year deal with a lower AAV than that.
I suspect the velocity drop was of minor concern since it’s a one-year claim and he’s effective. More likely it had to do with when he was released as teams were dealing with their 40 man roster and, more importantly, they themselves were trying to figure out how the offseason was going to play out. They gambled he might go cheaper. Now, he likely signs for more than one year. Maybe his AAV is lower than $10M—maybe—but I suspect some teams if they could have a do over now would claim him.
I totally agree, if teams had a do over now it would make sense for a lot more of them to claim him. Especially seeing how Treinen and Hendriks have done so far in free agency. I don’t know what the White Sox situation was with their 40 man and budget projections, but hindsight 20/20 Hand at 1Y/$10M seems like a better position to be in than Hendriks 4Y/$54M so theoretically they should have jumped on it, along with the Mets and some others.
I don’t see him getting an AAV over 10M. His situation is a little different, but with some of the better non-tenders like Dahl, Schwarber etc… they usually end up with right around what they were going to get before being let go. Dahl was projected at like $2.7M and then signed for that with Texas, Schwarber projected at $7M and then signs for that much with Washington (although admittedly he has more guaranteed because of a buyout). So ultimately with Hand I just don’t see him getting more than the 10M he was going to get anyways.
Same article on Hand today. Oh I forgot it’s the Mets. Coming up at 8:00 what Hand had for dinner while contemplating the METS
Finger food, I assume
Why the Twins haven’t signed him is beyond me. He wants to come to MN, would be a tremendous boost for a bullpen that lost Trevor May, Hand is probably even an upgrade.
Yeah hopefully the Twins get something more than Robles. Hand would be a nice fit since he’s from Minnesota and a lot of players don’t really want to go there. But Rosenthal would be cool.
As an Indian fan I’m grateful to Hand for giving us a couple of good years. However when we needed him most in game 2 against the yanks he took the pipe big time. He certainly is worth a look see,but a two year deal for 15mil at age 31? I know I cheer for a cheap ownership,but that’s too much for a guy like Hand.Not everyone can be Mariano Rivera,but this guy has got a few kinks in his armor. It’s your money,but I’m glad he’s not in Cleveland anymore.
Hi Brian,
No hate man, but I’m sure glad you’re not the Mets GM. :-)
Dom is not a “spare part.” He’s a Top 3 hitter on the team; young, favorably contracted, and an original Met.
I know, no one is untradeable, but it would have to be really special. That trade proposal is not. Dom is special. :-)