Dodgers Team News

Dodgers Surface In Brad Hand Trade Discussion

Recently, I looked back on a time when reliever Brad Hand was the biggest want on my wish-list. Now, we are right back where we started with the 29-year old reliever.

With the floundering Cleveland Indians checking in at 34-32 (10.5 games back in their division), there’s a chance that Cleveland could be sellers at the deadline. Furthermore, Bob Nightengale of USA Today says that the Dodgers are once again interested in Hand internally.



Remember, the Dodgers had interest in Hand in 2017 when he was with the San Diego Padres. Of course, Hand was eventually dealt to Cleveland last season from San Diego; helping the Indians to make the postseason.

What’s more, Hand is currently more dominant than he’s ever been.

In 30 appearances, Hand has 19 saves and a brilliant 0.91 ERA. Without question, that plays in any bullpen in the league.

While Hand wouldn’t necessarily slide into the Dodgers’ closer role, he immediately would strengthen the sum of the whole by walking into the clubhouse. And personally – I think the guy would look tremendous in the Dodger uniform.

Lastly, the cost isn’t known for Hand; and Cleveland has made no official indication that he’s available. However, the first step in all of this is that the Dodgers identify the player as a target. According to Nightengale, that’s already happened.

This guy is first on my shopping list for this July. How do you feel about him, what do you think would be the cost; and what are you willing to part with to add him? Let us know in the comments!

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50 Comments

  1. Clint, hello and happy Friday to you! First thing is , that Hand will cost Dodgers more than he would cost any other team. The Indians know about our depth and the regular season track record these past 6 years plus speak for themselves, along with back to back NL Pennants and WS appearances. I won’t talk about who Dodgers make available should this take place but 2 minor league players WHO MUST NOT BE MADE AVAILABLE under ANY circumstances are Gavin Lux and Will Smith. OH, I might add a 3rd player…Lucas May.

    1. Happy Friday my friend. FRG (Clint Pasillas) and I talked the other day on this subject. I asked him if he would part with Lux in a trade for Hand. He said he would not give up a young, controlled SS for a reliever. He made me re-think.

      This is a tough call!

  2. I think a combination of any 2 of the following is fair…
    Gavin Lux
    Any one of the Dodgers minor league catchers EXCEPT Will Smith.
    Any of the Dodgers prospects ranked 10-15 in their organization, Cleveland can take their pick of 1-2 of them.
    Joc Pederson
    Chris Taylor
    Brock Stewart
    Floro
    Alexander
    Baez
    —————————
    Don’t trade Verdugo, Muncy , Will Smith, Bellinger, or any of the current Dodgers starters.

    1. Good call Jeff. We get a great reliever and get rid of a bunch of mediocre or worse spare parts. Get real. You think anyone is that dumb?

    2. I would never be happy with the loss of Joc. He has come through numerous times to spark the team and his outfield defense is pretty decent. You can’t discount his home run stats, either.

  3. So our 2nd best catching prospect should be available? Do we really need 2 catching prospects? Anyone should be available for this player. He would instantly solve our bullpen and guarantee us a 3rd straight pennant.

    1. It’s really hard to say here. I am glad in this situation I am not being paid to make the decision to need to dangle Keibert Ruiz or Cartaya for him.

    2. Unless Hand would simply be a rental. But in any event I DO OT WANT LUX included in any deal
      And nor do I want Will Smith to be in any deal either..I am sick of seeing good prospects and or players swapped for any 2 month rental.

      1. If the trade is centered around Will Smith for Brand Hand, pull the trigger! Hand gives Dodgers a solid setup man and possibly a closer if Jensen falters down the stretch. I see this situation much like the Cubs when they traded for Chapman a few years back. It brought a championship to Chicago and it could do th e same for LA! By the way the Dodgers still have top catching prospect Ruiz.

        1. By no means would Hand win us a WS all by himself, meaning no instant guarantees at all, especially if the offense tanks in the PS and or WS and our pitching serves up the long ball the way they did in these past 2 WS.

          1. I dont think anyone is claiming Hand will Win a WS by himself and no guarantee goes without saying. Of course there are so many variables that can cost the Dodgers. But this article is about the bullpen and the Dodgers lack of closing games. The point is the bullpen needs reinforcement if the Dodgers want to have a shot a winning a WS and Hand can help. You have to give up something to get something.

  4. Of course they surface that doesn’t mean they’re making a serious effort. Friedman just goes through the motions in free agency and trades so the fans think he’s trying

    1. Oh I don’t know. This was around the time of year that everyone said Machado to LA was a pipe dream. Nightengale reported interest, everyone said it was a jinx. Then at the All Star Break it happened. Hand could be this year’s Machado acquisition for LA.

  5. I feel the prospect cost will be too high. It never seems like a good trade to give away top prospects for relievers as they are just too inconsistent. His contract is reasonable at 7 and 10 mil year for the next two years. I trust the front office to make a solid addition and not trade the next wave of starters/stars. They have acquired effective pieces each season like Watson, Cingrani, etc.

    I am very happy they did not trade the likes of Seager, Bellinger, and Buehler.

    1. It would be interesting to go back and look at what some of the dominant relievers cost were at the deadline. I am sure if we get closer on Hand we will do a feature on that. In some cases, relievers have been acquired for shockingly low costs.

    2. Dont look now but we have lots of prospects on the farm, but no future ” stars”. Its bare down there with no sure things.lets get what we need and pay the cost which may be a career minor leaguers or marginal major leaguers. There are no apparent buellers or seaters on the farm.

      1. Because of finishing 1st in the Division the last 6 years, those prospects are basically much lower draft picks so yes, most of them may never see a MLB field and or they are only marginal players at best.

  6. That’s a tough question, I can see the Indians asking for a MLB player most likely Verdugo plus prospects. I don’t think you give up Verdugo, I think he has proven his worth and shown he is an everyday player capable of hitting at the top of the lineup. I’d hate this but, Joc would be a start, seeing that he would lead the Indians in HR, 2nd in RBI and 3rd in BA and OBP. After Joc, I think it’s gonna sting but I can see the Tribe asking for 2 top prospects between Kelbert Ruiz, Will Smith, Tony Gosolin, Dustin May, Dennis Santana and Mitchell White.

    I would try to get a deal by offering Joc, Edwin Rios, Mitchell White but, might have to add DJ Peters or Dennis Santana.

    1. I think they know from offseason pursuits of Verdugo (for Kluber, etc.) that they can’t ask for Verdugo here. it would have to be prospects.

  7. I wouldn’t put it past Friedman, he is great at putting deals together, i think Hand would be a great pick up for us, as long as we aren’t trading away key prospects Lux,Ruiz,Smith,May, we have so many, i think any team that gets involved in a trade with the Dodgers may over ask because of our depth.I like the idea, with caution.

    1. I have been wanting Hand since 2017. Just feel like he would be the perfect addition.

  8. Folks are too eager to give up Joc. I like our outfield, leave em alone for a while. Give up minor leaguers and try to pawn off a couple of our bad guys, like Kelly( a change of scenery might do him good,especially to the AL), even if it takes 3 or 4 minor leaguers. Smith and Beatty should stay as well. Heck I would even trade Pollock for a lock down guy.

    1. The guys u mentioned are at their lowest value. U need to sell high. See yusniel Diaz in the machado deal. Lux and smith are off limits to me. I’m sure friedmans list is longer than that.

  9. Instead of Hand I’d like Freidman to re-acquire Andrew Heaney and stick him in the bullpen……along with Urias now back, I think that would work well. You could slot him in pretty much anywhere, he could even start if someone goes down to an injury……Heaney makes 3.4 million/yr versus 6.5 million/yr for Hand…..Heaney has two yrs. of arbitration left so that 3.4 will rise, but I don’t think it will reach 6.5………Brad Hand is already a closer………I don’t see him and Kenley co-existing well……..just like the Kimbrel, logjam I don’t see Brad taking a back seat to Kenley in the bullpen.

  10. Want to finally win the WS, then in order to land Hand, any of our top prospects need to be available. I don’t care about a guy’s potential 3 or 4 years from now. We are set with our foundation of Belly, Seager and Verdugo. Time to pull the trigger and go all in. Cubs did it with Chapman, Astros with Verlander and Red Sox with Sale. All WS Champions. Now it’s our turn to do whatever it takes to get Hand. Must be all in or we will continue to be only the best regular season team.

  11. I would definitely trade a prospect or two for Hand. We have to go all I. To win a World Series. We lost the past World Series mostly because of the bullpen. We have offense, defense, Starting Pitching. Now we need bullpen. So with Hand being the 8th inning guy and Jansen the ninth, the Dodgers will be unstoppable. That’s my opinion.

  12. You cannot give away the entire farm for a BP pitcher. How about Yadier Alvarez, Brock Stewart, and any catcher with the exception of Will Smith? All Hands on Deck!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go Blue!!!

  13. How long a contract does he have? Is he a short term rental? If so the price should drop significantly. Friedman has said they are contemplating bringing up May, Gonsolin, etc to see how they perform. As we have seen from Ferguson, Stripling, and Urias using a young starter works well as long as they have a pitch or two that will miss bats.
    If you trade talent it should be guys that are blocked by young great talent Seager, Bellinger, Verdugo, Muncy above them. So maybe offer Estevez and Santana? But if he is a half season rental that changes the offer.

    1. Not only that but Hand by himself guarantees nothing if the rest of the team did what it did in last year;s WS.. I am happy to see that guys like Muncy, Bellinger, Verdugo at least are showing they can handle LHP, but I still fear the lack of any impact RH bats might be once again exposed in the PS but WSS. But getting Hand does not guarantee a WS

          1. Come on thats not a realistic trade scenario. Dodgers dont need another outfielder. Now if we said Roberto Osuna, Astros closer, now we are talking and yes I would consider trading Alvarez or any top talent for that caliber of reliever.

          1. I just dont understand how you claim the future is lost by trading prospects. Friedman has a pretty good system in place that finds talent and drafts players very well. He has proven he could trade a Zack Lee, Jose De Leon, Willie Calhoun, etc., and still continue to win!

  14. We need a helping left Hand in the bullpen and his first name is Brad. The Dodgers have a lot of assets to trade Cleveland.It was proven last night against the Cubs that Jansen can not go two nights in a row. A guy like Hand can close games out with his experience and can be used in tandem with Jansen. Mr. Friedman you have a lot of work to do in the bullpen before July 31. Don’t sit on your laurels that you’re ahead by 9 games in a weak National League West and weaker National League in general. The bullpen by my count has blown 11 games.In a five and seven game series the bullpen is as important as the starters.You have the money and the assets to trade. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by to finally win a World Series.P.S. You need to address the catching as well as a couple of quality right hand bats.We don’t want to be like the Atlanta Braves of winning 14 pennants and only one World Series. Go all in.Please do your job.

  15. Any thinking going on at the FO about going after the Giant’s Will Smith? If not, why?

    1. IDK if in fact they are considering that reliever will Smith but remeber this; Zaidi knows our farm system and has said as such he would beopen to dealing with Dodgers because he feels it will weaken Dodgers in future years. Believe me, he will ask for a lot to get him too.

      1. Paul:

        There has been a lot of talk on the Giant’s flagship station about which “pieces” of this year’s club they will be trying to move. Bum is on the list and Smith’s name has also been talked up a lot, in that the team is going nowhere this year and probably not for a few years. They are apparently moving into a “deep rebuild” with a youth movement. Zaidi needs to put some talent on the field next year as well as show some youth coming up. The Giants current absence of young infielders is a serious deficiency. They’ve also talked about moving Brandon Belt for the right package – young guys. Crawford at 32 is also “up” in the discussions. It would be better to get Smith for less out of our talent pool, than not do anything and go with the BP group we currently field. Kelly leads the group in disappointments and even Jensen looks “shaky”. He was lucky to get the save yesterday, as he sure looked like he was missing his spots on most pitches.

  16. Its too soon for Cleveland to move Hand. Next year, with his 10 million would be the time to do it if they are not contending. If….they decide to trade this year they will get a high price in return. No doubt Dodgers need him if you think Kelly will not return to form and Jansen continues to falter. Dodgers bullpen is the only weakness we have, enough for an early exit out of the post season. The deal would take something similar to what the Indians paid the Padres in the first place. I say pass. Too rich for our blood and go for a cheaper lefty arm.

  17. Give Cleveland C. Ruiz , P. Santana and IF/OF. Rios and that would probably get us Brad Hand. Would be perfect compliment to Jansen and help all the bullpen. Would also try and add P. Yimi Garcia who is out of options and OF. Kendall to also get RP. Adam Cinder from Cleveland. Comments please.

  18. I would like to see them go bigger with this and acquire both Hand and Bauer, and move Maeda to the pen. It would give us bullpen help (2 guys) while still having flexibility to handle a starter injury should it occur.

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