2023-08-02 05:00:41
The Braves acquired veteran left-handed reliever Brad Hand from the Rockies in exchange for minor league right-hander Alec Barger, Atlanta announced Tuesday afternoon.
The 33-year-old Hand is capable of striking out a lot, but he has to watch the walks. After finishing the day on Monday, he had 41 strikeouts against 16 walks this season. One good sign was that he had only walked two in his last 6 1/2 innings and will no longer have to deal with Denver’s Coors Field.
Spring training began with Hand without a contract, but during camp he signed a one-year, $2 million deal, with a club option, with the Rockies. He started the year strong, with 12 of his first 16 games scoreless. But he has scored in nine of his last 23 appearances and has posted an ERA of 5.95 in that span.
Still, Hand, who pitched the entire postseason for the Phillies last year, has plenty of big-game experience. He has a 7.88 ERA in 10 postseason games, but six of those games were scoreless.
Barger has a 3.29 ERA with five saves in 30 games at Double-A Mississippi this year. The 25-year-old is not listed among Atlanta’s top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.
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