Phillies to sign reliever Brad Hand
While fans beg for an infusion of new blood for the lineup and outfield, the Philadelphia Phillies have their sights set on yet another questionable reliever.
As if spending $16M on Corey Knebel and Jeurys Familia this year isn’t already an overcorrection – or rather miscorrection – for last year’s bullpen debacle.
According to Jeff Passan, the Phillies are signing lefty reliever Brad Hand to a $6M deal, making the Phillies his fourth NL East team in his 11-year career. If he ends up with the Atlanta Braves at some point, he’ll have division bingo.
After beginning his career with the Florida/Miami Marlins, Hand pitched for the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Guardians. Hand was dominant in the late 2010s, leading MLB in appearances in 2016, and earning three consecutive All-Star appearances between 2017-19. During the shortened 2020 season, he posted a 2.05 ERA over 23 appearances, led the American League in games finished (21), and led MLB with 16 saves.
However, Hand just spent the 2021 season bouncing around between the Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Mets, and his 3.90 ERA over 68 total games masked some truly bad appearances and concerning numbers.
Brad Hand was passed around like a bad cold last year.
— John Stolnis (@JohnStolnis) March 14, 2022
WASH: 3.59 ERA, 6.5 H/9, 8.9 K/9, 3.8 BB/9, 42.2 IP
TOR: 7.27 ERA, 13.5 H/9, 5.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 8.2 IP
NYM: 2.70 ERA, 8.1 H/9, 9.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 13.1 IP
K-BB% went from 27.3% in '19 & 29.1% in '20 to 12.6% last year.
In a classic Phillies twist, the team Hand struggled against the most was his new team.
Brad Hand: 2.70 ERA in 60 IP last year against all teams other than the Phillies. https://t.co/6YSwkIz15g
— The Good Phight - x (@TheGoodPhight) March 14, 2022
Many players struggled to reacclimate to a 162-game season after only 60 games in 2020, so Hand could very well bounce back in 2022.
That being said, maybe the Phillies should have let the Mets sign him.
Will the Phillies bullpen be better in 2022?
The Phillies are paying a combined $22M to Corey Knebel ($10M), Jeurys Familia ($6M), and Hand ($6M) this season. On paper, the trio looks to be an improvement from last year’s bullpen, but the bar for improvement is so low, they could step over it without tripping.
The 2021 bullpen led MLB in blown saves for almost the entire season and tied the single-season record by blowing 34 saves, a benchmark previously set by the 2004 Colorado Rockies. Thankfully, by season’s end, they were surpassed by the Washington Nationals, who set a new record when they blew save opportunity No. 35.
Who will be the Philadelphia Phillies’ Opening Day starting pitcher?
After a Cy Young runner-up and All-Star season in 2021, Zack Wheeler has earned the honor of being the Phillies' 2022 Opening Day starting pitcher.