Brad Hand
Bradley Richard Hand is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Florida/Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, and Atlanta Braves.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Hand's family settled in Chaska before he entered high school. He was a three-sport athlete at Chaska High School, and after his senior year in 2008, the Florida Marlins selected him in the second round of the 2008 MLB draft. Hand chose to forego a college baseball commitment to Arizona State in favor of turning professional. He made his MLB debut in 2011 when Marlins starting pitcher Josh Johnson was injured, but inconsistent pitch command prevented Hand from becoming a fixture in the Marlins' major league roster until 2014, when he was assigned to the bullpen. Hand spent the next two seasons alternating between starting and relief roles for Miami before he was claimed on waivers by the Padres shortly before the 2016 season.
Hand had a breakout role in San Diego, attributed in part to his slider. He was named to three consecutive All-Star Games beginning in 2017, the same year that he became a closer. The Padres traded Hand to the Indians midway through the 2018 season, and he made his first postseason appearance in the 2018 American League Division Series. After struggling with arm fatigue and pitch delivery issues in 2019, Hand was perfect in 16 save opportunities for Cleveland in 2020, but he was designated for assignment at the end of the year. Hand found varying levels of success in 2021 with Washington, Toronto, and New York before signing with Philadelphia in 2022.
Early life
Bradley Richard Hand was born on March 20, 1990, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Lon and Barb Hand of Hampton, Iowa. Hand's family moved around Minnesota during his childhood, with stops in West St. Paul and Eagan before settling in Chaska just before Hand entered high school. He was a three-sport varsity athlete at Chaska High School, receiving honors in American football, ice hockey, and baseball. Hand finished his senior baseball season with an 8–2 win–loss record, two saves, and a 0.61 earned run average, allowing only six earned runs in 68 innings pitched. This included a complete game, three-hit shutout against Eden Prairie High School, a 3–0 victory in which Hand struck out 14 batters. At the plate, Hand batted.352 with eight home runs and 24 runs batted in.Professional career
Draft and minor leagues (2008–2010)
The Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball selected Hand out of high school in the second round, 52nd overall, of the 2008 MLB draft. At the time, he had committed to play college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils. Hand instead signed with the Marlins that June for a $760,000 signing bonus and was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Marlins to begin his professional baseball career. In nine games there, seven of which were starts, Hand had a 2–0 record and 2.48 ERA, striking out 34 batters in innings. He was promoted to the Class A Short Season Jamestown Jammers at the end of August. His first win came on September 4, when he allowed two hits in six scoreless innings and the Jammers clinched a berth in the New York–Penn League playoffs. The Jammers reached the NYPL finals but lost the championship to the Batavia Muckdogs. Hand made three starts for Jamestown, in which he went 1–2 with a 3.00 ERA and struck out 12 batters in 15 innings.In 2009, Hand was promoted to the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the Low-A South Atlantic League, where he went 7–13 with a 4.86 ERA in 26 starts. His 13 losses set a franchise record in Greensboro, but he also led the team that season with 122 strikeouts in innings. He improved as the season went on in Greensboro: Hand was 2–5 with a 7.68 ERA in his first eight starts, but had only a 3.84 ERA in his next 19 appearances. He was promoted to the Class A-Advanced Jupiter Hammerheads to begin the 2010 season, and by mid-June, he led the team with a 4–3 record, 3.33 ERA, and 74 strikeouts in innings. Hand was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending June 13 after pitching a complete game shutout against the Tampa Yankees. He went 8–8 with a 3.33 ERA in 26 starts for Jupiter before receiving a promotion to the Double-A Jacksonville Suns at the beginning of September. In his only appearance for Jacksonville that season, Hand held the Tennessee Smokies to four hits in six innings of a 6–2 Jacksonville win.
Florida / Miami Marlins (2011–2015)
Hand returned to the Suns to begin the 2011 baseball season, the only left-handed pitcher in both the starting rotation and bullpen. The Marlins, who were in need of an additional starting pitcher when Josh Johnson was placed on the disabled list, promoted Hand to Florida on June 6, 2011. At the time, he was 7–1 with a 3.53 ERA in Jacksonville. He made his MLB debut the next day, allowing only one earned run on one hita solo home run to Álex González in the fourth inning in six innings against the Atlanta Braves, but took the loss as the Marlins were shut out 1–0. His first major league win came on July 8, 2011, Hand's fifth start, when he held the Houston Astros to two hits in five innings of a 5–0 shutout win. After the game, the Marlins optioned Hand, who had a 1–3 record and 2.77 ERA, back down to Jacksonville so he could continue to pitch during the All-Star Game break. He received three more major league promotions between July and September, but was sent back down both times as he struggled both with controlling his pitches and with allowing home runs. Johnson remained sidelined with a shoulder injury throughout that period, and in his absence, reliever Clay Hensley had become a starting pitcher. With the team out of playoff contention by September, however, manager Jack McKeon sent Hensley back to the bullpen and allowed Hand to start the final stretch of games and sell himself as a major league player for the 2012 season. In his first season with the Marlins, Hand went 1–8 with a 4.20 ERA in 12 starts, and he recorded 38 strikeouts in 60 innings. He was 11–4 with a 3.40 ERA in 19 Jacksonville games, meanwhile, all but one of which were starts, and struck out 71 batters in innings.While Hand made a change to the angle of his throwing arm during the 2011–12 offseason, which helped him throw more strikes in spring training, he did not make the Miami Marlins' 2012 Opening Day roster, and was instead assigned to Jacksonville on March 18. He instead started the minor league season with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs as part of a starting rotation that also included Tom Koehler, Alex Sanabia, Wade LeBlanc, and J. D. Martin. Hand received his first MLB call-up of the season on August 3 to pitch in the second game of a doubleheader against the Washington Nationals. The MLB collective bargaining agreement allowed a player like Hand to join a team as the 26th person on their 25-man roster for a same-day doubleheader as long as he was sent back to the minors the next day. At the time of his promotion, Hand was 8–5 in New Orleans, with a 3.66 ERA, 116 strikeouts, and 54 walks. He struggled in his lone start, allowing seven runs on six hits and six walks in innings. Hand was removed from the game after throwing 97 pitches in less than four innings, including a 33-pitch first inning, and the Nationals won 7–2. Hand made 27 starts with the Zephyrs in 2012, going 11–7 with a 4.00 ERA in the process, and he struck out 141 batters in innings while issuing 75 walks.
Hand returned to the Zephyrs to begin the 2013 season in the Pacific Coast League. After the Marlins used 11 pitchers in a 15-inning game against the New York Mets on April 30, Hand was briefly promoted to Miami as a fresh arm, but he was sent back down two days later after making one relief appearance. On May 21, Hand injured his oblique during pregame warmups with the Zephyrs. He spent nine weeks on the disabled list; on July 30, his first start since returning from the injury, Hand held the Colorado Springs Sky Sox to three hits in five scoreless innings, earning a no decision. On August 5, he struck out 11 batters and allowed one hit in six scoreless innings, taking the win in a 5–1 game against the Reno Aces. He was named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week for these two performances. In 15 starts for New Orleans, Hand went 3–5 with a 3.42 ERA, striking out 81 batters in innings. He was a September call-up for the Marlins in 2013 as a relief pitcher who could make occasional starts as needed. His first major league start of the season came on September 13 against the Mets. Hand initially had a promising outing, walking only two batters in innings, but the three-run home run he allowed to Lucas Duda in the sixth inning led to a 4–3 Marlins loss. His first win since 2011, meanwhile, came on September 18, when Hand pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in a game that the Marlins won 4–3 in extra innings. Hand appeared in seven major league games that season, two starts and five relief appearances, and went 1–1 with a 3.05 ERA while striking out 15 batters in innings.
After spending spring training in contention with Tom Koehler and Brian Flynn for the final spot in the Marlins' starting rotation, Hand, who went 2–1 with a 2.70 ERA in exhibition games, made Miami's Opening Day roster as a reliever. He struggled in his new role as a long reliever, going 0–1 with a 6.38 ERA in 16 appearances, 14 of which came in relief, before he was placed on the disabled list with a sprained ankle on May 24. When he returned from his rehabilitation assignment in July, Hand was added to the starting rotation, which had lost both the injured José Fernández and struggling Jacob Turner, the latter of whom had become the team's new long reliever. It initially appeared as if he would break out in the rotation, going 2–2 with a 2.70 ERA in six July starts, but Hand soon returned to the bullpen when he went 0–3 with a 6.17 ERA in August. He was able to end the season on a high note with a 1–2 record and 3.00 ERA in his last four September starts. Altogether, Hand made 32 appearances for the Marlins in 2014, half starts and half in relief. He went 3–8 with a 4.38 ERA, striking out 67 batters in 111 innings.
In 2015, Hand and the newly acquired David Phelps spent spring training preparing as backup starters in case the Marlins quickly lost a member of their rotation to injury, as they had the season prior. He was also out of minor league options that season and required a strong spring training to avoid being traded or placed on waivers. After posting a 1.54 ERA in spring exhibition games, Hand joined the Opening Day roster as one of the Marlins' two left-handed relievers. He received his first start of the season on May 27 against the Pittsburgh Pirates following injuries to Henderson Alvarez and Mat Latos. Hand earned a no decision as he held the Pirates to four hits in five innings, but the Marlins lost 5–2 after poor outings from relievers Mike Dunn and Sam Dyson. After allowing six runs to the Toronto Blue Jays in an 11–3 loss on June 8, Hand did not start a game again until August 5, when he pitched four scoreless innings and left the Marlins with a 1–0 lead against the Mets. Hand only earned a no decision, however, as the Marlins lost the game 5–1, giving him a 6–20 career record. He broke the Marlins' six-game losing streak in his next start on August 10 when, in addition to allowing only one run on two hits in seven innings, he successfully utilized two sacrifice bunts to lead the Marlins to a 4–1 win over the Atlanta Braves. Hand was the first Marlin in franchise history to record two RBI sacrifice bunts in one game and was the first MLB player to do so since Alex Cora 11 years prior. Hand appeared in 38 games for the Marlins in 2015, 12 as a starter and 26 in relief, and he went 4–7 with a 5.30 ERA while striking out 67 batters in innings.