Indians get: LHP Brad Hand (2-4, 3.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 65/15 K/BB, Age 28)
RHP Adam Cimber (3-5, 3.17 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 51/10 K/BB, Age 27)
Padres get: C/IF/OF Francisco Mejia (0 HR, .000/.500/.000, 0 SB, 117 wRC+, Age 22)
Lefty Brad Hand has been on the trade block for a while now, and the Padres finally let him (and Aaron Cimber) go over to Cleveland in exchange for top prospect Francisco Mejia. The Indians' bullpen is far under-performing, with its 5.28 ERA ranking second to last in baseball just one year after its 2.89 ERA led all of baseball. Hand, who has been one of the best left handers in baseball over the past three seasons, should change that. Though he hasn't quite been pitching to his 2017 levels (2.16 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 104/20 K/BB), his 3.05 ERA this year and 1.08 WHIP are very respectable and at this point, he has proven to be consistently well above average, something few relievers can do. Joining Cody Allen and Andrew Miller at the back of that bullpen will once again give the Indians something to be proud of in the later innings. As a huge bonus, Hand is under contract through the 2020 season, being owed just $6.5 million in 2019 and $7 million in 2020. He has a $10 million option in 2021 as well, which is very affordable if he continues to perform to this level. Meanwhile, perhaps submarining righty Adam Cimber will get lost in this trade, but he shouldn't be. The 27 year old rookie has matched Hand nearly pitch for pitch this season, doing so from an extreme submarine delivery. He's old for a rookie, having been drafted back in 2013 as a senior out of the University of San Francisco, but he should be ale to shore up the middle innings for quite a few years.
This isn't your typical trade because in exchange for their controllable star and an extra piece, the Padres are only getting one prospect back. That prospect happens to be nationally-recognized catcher Francisco Mejia, but it's still just one prospect. You can look at it in two ways. From one perspective, Padres were only able to get one prospect, and even though he is one of the better prospects in the game, they're putting all their eggs in one basket while trading away a controllable star. If you look at it another way, the Padres were able to get a prospect many would view as "untouchable," a potential superstar who could headline a package for just about anyone in baseball, without trading away a true superstar of their own. To me, it all comes down to whether the Padres think he can catch. There's few questions about the bat; he slashed .297/.346/.490 with 14 home runs at AA Akron in 2017, and though he started slow this year, he has built his slash line up .279/.328/.426 with seven home runs for AAA Columbus. In fact, he was hitting just .178/.236/.276 with three total home runs as late as May 24th, but he has caught fire since then, including a .455/.476/.717 slash line in June. He profiles as a guy with middling home run power, perhaps 15-20 per season, while maintaining a high batting average and a decent on-base percentage. That's not necessary the most exciting offensive package, but if he can stick behind the plate, he suddenly ends up in the same realm as J.T. Realmuto and Gary Sanchez. However, if his mediocre receiving skills cause him to move to third base or the outfield, something he doesn't want to do, he becomes more of a decent regular who can put up 2.0-3.0 fWAR per season. I haven't watched enough of Mejia to be able to say whether I think he can stick behind the plate, but I can tell you this; if you like his chances back there, it's a great trade, but if you don't, you can't help but be just a little disappointed that he's all you got for Hand. We'll have to see.
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