October 30, 2020, is the date which sent Brad Hand on a roller coaster ride, which has now reached another apex. After finishing a 2020 campaign where he didn’t blow a save, in leading all of baseball with 16 lockdowns, the Cleveland Indians decided to move on from their $10M closer in a cost cutting move. Hand would sign with the Washington Nationals, though not without some drama.
On January 15, 2021, Andy Martino tweeted Hand was close to signing with the New York Mets. Before a deal could become official, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo swooped in to sign the closer.
Joining a team with Juan Soto and Trea Turner, while attempting to close out games for Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg had to be a welcome thought for Hand. The season started well enough, then the roller coaster pointed downward. Hand’s momentum headed the wrong direction and cratered him out, in the minds of Nationals fans. Come deadline time, the left-hander had some trade value and the Nats flipped him to Toronto for Riley Adams.
The roller coaster began it’s ascent once again. Pitching for a potential playoff team in high leverage situations is what Hand had made a living doing. This loop on the track didn’t go up for long. Hand’s time with the Blue Jays was terrible, as was the pitcher’s efforts.
A DFA came his way just a month after the Jays traded a top-20 prospect for him.
The New York Mets have claimed former Nationals closer, Brad Hand off waivers.
Within days of being kicked off the Jays 40-man, the Mets have come to the rescue of a pitcher they have long coveted. And the rise begins again, for Hand. A perfect match. An embattled closer and a franchise in turmoil.
The Mets are two games under .500, five back in the division, five and half back in the wild card standings, yet they think they have a chance. Well, they do have five more games against the Nationals, so maybe they do.
However, this is a Mets team whose players boo their own fans, their acting GM gets drunk and falls asleep behind the wheel and their owner tweets at fans regularly. You never know what you are going to get.
#Mets week in three acts (it’s only Thursday). pic.twitter.com/EdsEJG8lGH
— David Lennon (@DPLennon) September 2, 2021
Well, we do know what the Mets will get. A struggling pitcher who has given up eight home runs in 50 innings this year. They love him for being a second left handed option out of the bullpen behind Aaron Loup. We love him because he’ll fit right into that clown car with the rest of the Mets.