A Mighty Hand Out

Think the Indians are tired of hearing about the Red Sox, Astros and Yankees? Funny how quickly we forget—no team in the American League won more games than Cleveland (102) a year ago. And though the Tribe hasn’t played its best ball yet this year, Cleveland still carries a commanding 7.5-game lead over the next-best team (Minnesota) in the AL Central. That’s a bigger lead than Boston (4.5 games clear of New York) and Houston (five games ahead of Seattle) hold in their respective divisions.

On Thursday, the Indians got us talking about them for a change by pulling off a mini-blockbuster, acquiring relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from the Padres in exchange for top catching prospect Francisco Mejia. And when I say top catching prospect, I mean it quite literally. Mejia is, according to MLB.com, the No. 1 catching prospect in all of baseball and No. 15 overall. The Dominican Republic native first made headlines while playing at Low-A Lake County and later High-A Lynchburg during the 2016 campaign. That year he compiled a phenomenal .342 average while stringing together an impressive 50-game hitting streak, the fourth-longest in minor league history.

This isn’t the first time the Indians have shopped Mejia—two years ago he was included in a trade with Milwaukee that would have sent Jonathan Lucroy to the Indians, but Lucroy nixed the swap by invoking his no-trade clause and was later dealt to Texas. Mejia is a rare hitting talent at catcher—he sports a robust .291 average across 1,803 minor league at-bats—though clearly the Indians weren’t sold on his defense. Cleveland mostly stashed Mejia in Triple-A, granting the 22-year-old just two major league at-bats this season.


The Padres aren’t in a position to compete this year—they finished the first half on a five-game losing skid, which dropped them a distant 14.5 games back of the division-leading Dodgers. But their future is undeniably bright. Including Mejia, the Padres are now in possession of TEN Top 100 prospects (according to MLB.com) with seven in the Top 50. Even if only a handful pan out, that’s still an embarrassment of riches. One could easily envision the young core of Mejia, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Mackenzie Gore ripping the National League to shreds in the not-so distant future. Bottoming out in pursuit of blue-chip prospects has become the preferred rebuilding tactic of Major League clubs as the Astros, Cubs and Phillies have all had success using this method. The Padres are hoping to add their name to that list in a few years.

Mejia was blocked by superior defensive catchers (Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez) in Cleveland and that will again be the case in San Diego, where Austin Hedges and A.J. Ellis have been handling backstop duties for the Friars. However, Hedges is an abysmal hitter (.205 career average in the majors) while the 37-year-old Ellis is more of a veteran mentor than a true on-field presence at this stage of his career. Mejia earned some outfield reps in Cleveland but the Padres seem committed to using him behind the plate. He’ll begin his Padres tenure in the minors with Triple-A El Paso but it shouldn’t be long until we see Mejia taking his hacks at Petco Park.

Perhaps Cleveland gave up too soon on Mejia—only time will tell. But the Indians still deserve credit for addressing their biggest shortcoming—relief pitching. That may come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the Indians in recent years—Cleveland’s bullpen has traditionally been one of its strengths with closer Cody Allen and perennial All-Star Andrew Miller manning the late innings. But a bothersome knee has kept Miller on the shelf since late May and without him, Cleveland’s pen has fallen to pieces. After leading the majors with a 2.89 bullpen ERA last season, the Indians have plummeted to 29th (5.28) in that category.

Getting Miller back to full strength will be the first step in alleviating Cleveland’s bullpen woes and now that the Indians have built some distance in the AL Central, the lanky veteran can slow-play his recovery. But in case that isn’t enough, the Indians now have one of the better left-handed relievers in baseball at their disposal.

Hand began his career as a starter in Miami but didn’t become a true force until he joined the Padres’ bullpen, where he emerged as one of the game’s elite late-inning arms. The 28-year-old has earned back-to-back All-Star nods while cruising to a stingy 2.47 ERA over his last two seasons. He’s also been a strikeout artist, delivering punch-outs at a rate of 12.3 per nine innings during that span. Try as they might, left-handers can’t seem to hit a lick against him (.149 AVG since the start of 2017). Cimber isn’t quite a household name yet, but he’s definitely no slouch—the rookie has worked to a steady 3.17 ERA this year while limiting opponents to a sluggish .237 average with 51 strikeouts in 177 at-bats.

Dealing Mejia for a chance to win this year may seem short-sighted, but this trade could also help the Indians long-term. Allen and Miller are both impending free agents and will surely attract widespread interest this winter. If the Indians lose either or both players to free agency, at least they’ll still have Hand (signed through 2021) and Cimber (under contract through 2023) to fall back on.

The move to Cleveland, though helpful to the Indians’ playoff pursuit, is a poison pill for Hand’s fantasy owners. Barring an injury to Allen, Hand will likely serve in a setup/lefty specialist capacity, rendering him irrelevant outside of leagues that count holds. Back in San Diego, ninth-inning responsibilities will likely rest in the capable hands of Kirby Yates. Hand was the Padres’ lone All-Star representative this year, but you could make the argument that Yates was more deserving. Playing on his fourth team in as many seasons, the right-hander has enjoyed a breakout year, collecting a stellar 1.43 ERA along with a standout 11.47 K/9 across 39 relief appearances. News of Yates’ ascension must not have reached the masses yet—as of this writing, the 31-year-old is still available in a surprising 61 percent of Yahoo leagues.

The Indians made their play. Now the question is, how will the AL’s other powerhouses respond? The Astros continue to be linked to Orioles closer Zach Britton while Twins slugger Brian Dozier could be a fit for Boston, especially with Dustin Pedroia’s status in doubt. And we all know the Yankees covet a starting pitcher. Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ and Michael Fulmer are all distinct possibilities, though if GM Brian Cashman really wants to swing for the fences, he could sell the farm for Mets ace Jacob deGrom.

Those dominos will fall soon enough, but let’s not lose sight of what’s important here. We need to know, once and for all, does Brad Hand play Mario Kart?

AL Quick Hits: Shohei Ohtani was cleared to resume throwing after being evaluated by Dr. Steve Yoon on Thursday. He did just that, playing catch from 60 feet. If he can avoid setbacks, the 24-year-old will have a chance to return to the Angels’ rotation in September … The A’s released veteran reliever Santiago Casilla on Thursday. The 37-year-old (he turns 38 next week) owns a 3.16 ERA over 31 1/3 innings this season … Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti expects Andrew Miller (knee) to be activated within “the next few weeks.” The 6’7” left-hander appeared in a rehab game Thursday at Triple-A Columbus, allowing one run on one hit (a solo homer) in his lone inning of work … Edwin Encarnacion injured his hand on a hit-by-pitch before the All-Star break but Indians manager Terry Francona said he’s “all good” for Friday’s series opener in Texas. The 35-year-old ranks fourth in the American League with 65 RBI … Gary Sanchez will return from a month-long absence Friday against the Mets. The Yankees backstop had been out with a strained groin … Jake Junis will return to action Saturday against the Twins. The Royals right-hander is back after missing about two weeks with lower back stiffness.

NL Quick Hits: Brandon Morrow landed on the DL Thursday with right biceps inflammation. The Cubs closer underwent an MRI and admitted there was “stuff in there,” though nothing that would require a long-term shutdown. Pedro Strop picked up the save for Chicago Thursday in a 9-6 win over St. Louis … According to Cubs pitching coach Jim Hickey, Yu Darvish is still “weeks away” from returning. Elbow and triceps injuries have limited the right-hander to just eight starts this season … The Cubs acquired Jesse Chavez from the Rangers on Thursday in exchange for minor league left-hander Tyler Thomas. The veteran reliever brings a respectable 3.51 ERA to the Windy City … At long last, Yoenis Cespedes will return from the disabled list Friday against the Yankees. Because the Mets are playing in an AL park, Cespedes will likely serve as the DH. He’s been out with a hip injury since mid-May … Jason Vargas will return from the disabled list Tuesday against the Padres. The left-hander has been out a month while nursing a strained calf. He’s been dreadful this year, losing six of nine starts while contributing a hideous 8.60 ERA … Evan Longoria is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Friday. A broken hand has kept him out of the lineup since mid-June … The Brewers will not discipline Josh Hader for racist and homophobic tweets made when he was 17. The All-Star reliever avoided a suspension, but MLB will require that Hader attend sensitivity training while also partaking in league-sanctioned inclusion and diversity initiatives … Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he plans to use Manny Machado at both shortstop and third base. Los Angeles acquired Machado Wednesday in a trade that sent five prospects including outfielder Yusniel Diaz to Baltimore … Jose Martinez was out of the lineup for a third straight game on Thursday, though he did appear as a pinch-hitter in a loss to the Cubs. The 29-year-old has impressed offensively this year (.299, 13 HR, 56 RBI) but his poor play in the field has cost him at-bats.