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San Diego Padres: Brad Hand on the trading block?
The trade season hasn't quite opened yet around Major League Baseball, but the San Diego Padres appear ready to sell and are already dangling lefty reliever Brad Hand on the trading block
In baseball, teams tend to really evaluate things around Memorial Day. Are you a contender or a pretender? If you're a contender, what piece or pieces do you need to really bolster yourself? Can you dip into your farm system for it, or do you need to make a deal? If you're not contending, who can you dangle out there to help you get some pieces as you continue the process? The San Diego Padres find themselves in the non-contending category this season.
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The Friars are 14 games out of first place coming into play last night with a 16-31 record. They are a club with some talent coming in the low minors due to strong drafts and spending Scrooge McDuck money in the international market.
As we saw last season in the playoffs, bullpens are very important and the two teams that paid the price to get big bullpen arms made the World Series.
Like Andrew Miller, Brad Hand was a starter who has become a reliever and flourished in the role. Like Miller last year, Hand could be a pivotal trade piece and is apparently already on the block.
The former second round pick was claimed on waivers by the Padres last April and put into their bullpen.
Hand was 4-4 with a 2.92 ERA in 82 games last season. More importantly, he saw his K rate spike up to 11.1 per nine. This year, his K rate is up to 11.8 while his ERA has dropped to 1.80 going into action last night.
A key may be the increase in slider rate. Per Fangraphs, Hand's slider rate rose from 8 percent to 30.3 percent last year, to 42.8 percent this year.
He's also a crossover guy. Righties are hitting just .170 against him this year, while lefties are hitting .120. Another plus about him is he's controllable. He won't be a free agent until after 2019.
Bullpen pieces, especially ones that are controllable, could fetch a big price at the trade deadline. The Padres could set themselves up for a nice bidding war for Hand's services if he is on the block. He's certainly a name to watch as the deadline gets closer.
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