The Mets claimed Brad Hand off waivers on Thursday, and manager Luis Rojas told reporters that the lefty reliever could join the team as early as Friday.
“We’re gonna get him over the weekend, might be tomorrow,” Rojas said.
Hand was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays after a dreadful month with the team. He had been traded to Toronto from the Nationals, where he had held a 3.59 ERA, but imploded and allowed 10 runs in just 8.2 innings once he was traded.
But Rojas believes a change of scenery can help Hand rediscover the efficiency he had enjoyed from 2016 to 2020, posting a 2.05 ERA with Cleveland as recently as last season.
“This is a high-leverage guy,” Rojas said. “We understand he’s been going through some struggles lately, but this can be a refresh for him.”
New York has slipped considerably in recent weeks in terms of its playoff push, but now sits five games behind the Braves after winning three straight, and Rojas believes the move to add Hand shows that the organization isn’t giving up on trying to end a four-year playoff drought.
“I think it’s an upgrade for us,” Rojas said. “It’s a great acquisition by our front office, sending a message to us that we’re fighting for this and we’re upgrading our team.”
The Mets have late-inning arms in Edwin Diaz, Miguel Castro and Aaron Loup, but Rojas sees Hand being used in the middle innings if needed, while having him as a late-inning option as well if need be.
“Even though he’s been a late-inning guy, a closer, he can come in in the middle of the game and shut things down for us,” Rojas said. “There’s division rivals and things we’ll see for the remainder of our schedule that have important lefty hitters in the middle of their order, and he can help us shut them down.”
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