The Indians have acquired relief pitchers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from the Padres in exchange for top catcher prospect Francisco Mejia, the teams announced Thursday. It’s an aggressive move by Cleveland to remodel its bullpen entering the second half of the season.
Hand is one of the top left-handed relievers in the game. The 28-year-old made his second straight All-Star Game after posting a 3.05 ERA with 65 strikeouts and 15 walks in 44.1 innings during the first half. He’s posted a 2.66 ERA since transitioning to relief work full-time in 2016 and should play a pivotal role in the Indians’ bullpen.
Cimber, 27, isn’t the same caliber of pitcher as Hand, but he’s also performed quite well as a late-blooming rookie this season. The right-hander has posted a 3.17 ERA with 51 strikeouts and 10 walks in 48.1 innings.
Those numbers will stand out in a Cleveland bullpen that has had major issues this season. The team is 29th in MLB in bullpen ERA (5.28), per FanGraphs, and no group of relievers allows more home runs per nine innings (1.71).
The Indians needed to address those problems and paid a high price in Mejia, who was widely rated as one of the top 25 prospects in baseball entering 2018. He’s batted .279/.328/.426 at the Class AAA level this season and could be a foundational piece in San Diego soon. That’s a big-time return for two relief pitchers.
