Indians: Optioning Brad Hand a sign of how bad MLB finances are

The Cleveland Indians are optioning Brad Hand, a clear sign of how bad the 2020 MLB season went for the league financially.

The Cleveland Indians have accepted that trading Brad Hand in this economic climate isn’t likely. The Indians have opted to decline Brad Hand instead of trying to find a trade partner, hoping to save $10 million against the payroll. The league lost $3.1 billion in revenue, which means smaller market teams like the Indians will be hurt worse by the loss of revenue. The Indians are hoping that a team claims Hand before the waiver period ends, otherwise they’ll have to pay Hand $1 million due to them opting out.

Hand, who will turn 31 before the start of next season, had a solid season despite a shakey start. He had 16 saves, while posting a 22-to-4 strikeout to walk ratio. He finished the season with a 2.05 ERA across 22 innings. Despite his issues early on, Hand righted the ship and avoided being demoted by interim manager Sandy Alomar. The Indians acquired Hand from San Diego for Tribe prospect Francisco Mejia. Meija plays catcher, a position of need for the Indians, and is under contract until 2025.

Proving once again why you don’t trade prospects for relievers.

Hand will find a new team eventually but where and how is anyone’s guess. The free agent market is going to look a lot like the trade market. A lot of teams aren’t going to spend big this off season due to the lack of income, so it’s entirely likely that many veterans who hit the free agency market will take one or two year deals. It’s also entirley likely that many teams are able to get players on discounts to stay.

As Francisco Lindor is expected to be moved this offseason, it’ll be interesting to see what he’ll warrant and get back. Lindor won’t see any $30+ million dollar deals this year or next. So this will be an interesting offseason for sure.