8:03 am | July 19, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
The Cleveland Indians bolstered their struggling bullpen on Thursday with the acquisition of San Diego Padres closer Brad Hand.
The Padres will also send reliever Adam Cimber and will receive highly touted catching prospect Francisco Mejia.
The Indians currently lead the AL Central by 7 1/2 games, but their bullpen is second-to-last in the league in ERA at 5.28. Last season, Cleveland had the best bullpen ERA in baseball.
The Indians lost relievers Joe Smith and Brian Shaw to free agency, but the holdovers have struggled as well. Closer Cody Allen‘s ERA was 2.94 last season but 4.66 this season. Andrew Miller has gone from 1.44 to 4.40 and he’s spent time on the disabled list. Dan Otero‘s ERA has skyrocketed from 2.85 to 5.60.
Hand, a 28-year-old left-hander, has a 2-4 record with a 3.05 ERA and a career-high 24 saves. He has struck out 65 batters in only 44 1/3 innings. He is a two-time All-Star.
Cimber is 27 years old but in his first season in the big leagues. He has impressed with a 3.17 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings.
Hand not only helps this year but offers the Indians security into the future. He signed a three-year, $19.75 million extension in 2018 that has a club option for 2021, while Allen and Miller are free agents next season. Cimber will also be under team control for a number of years.
Mejia, 22, has spent the bulk of this season at Triple A, batting .279 with seven homers and 45 RBIs. He played one game with the Indians this season. Keith Law ranks him as the No. 5 prospect in baseball.
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