Brad Hand, a lefty stud, and Adam Cimber, a righty stud, both from the San Diego Padres, have been traded to the Cleveland Indians for top prospect catcher Francisco Mejia. Trade rumors for Hand have been around since last July, as his all-star status on San Diego made him coveted by teams like the Dodgers, Astros, and Indians. Mejia was put on lockdown for Cleveland, as they were really unwilling to trade him unless the offer was extremely enticing. Now, I will breakdown the stats of the players in the trade, how it’ll do for Cleveland and San Diego, and how it’ll impact the Indians in the postseason.
First I’ll address how the Padres did in this trade. San Diego getting Mejia is incredible, even if they had to trade two really solid relievers for him. Mejia is the number 15 prospect in the entire MLB and is the best catching prospect in the MLB. His ratings in the minors include a 60 hitting, 50 power, 40 run, 70 arm, and 45 field that all comes out to a 55 overall. His stats in AAA so far this season includes a .279 BA, 7 HR, 45 RBI, .328 OBP, .426 SLG, .755 OPS, 18 walks, 58 strikeouts, 85 H, 22 2B, and 1 3B in 305 at-bats. He can play at an outfield position as well, although I see him as a mostly permanent catcher for their squad.
The Padres already have a loaded farm system. They have 10 prospects in the top 100 with the addition of Mejia, including SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (#3), LHP Mackenzie Gore (#13), Mejia (#15), 2B/SS Luis Urias (#29), RHP Cal Quantrill (#32), RHP Michel Baez (#33), LHP Adrian Morejon (#42), RHP Anderson Espinoza (#75), RHP Chris Paddock (#95), and LHP Logan Allen (#97). The best part about their farm is the amount of pitchers they have, and if there’s one thing baseball history has shown us it’s that you can’t go wrong with a surplus of pitchers. They also only have 2 other catchers in their farm outside of Mejia, so getting him to anchor behind the plate is a huge plus.
The Indians also came out victorious in this trade. Hand has been a top 5-10 reliever in the NL for the past 2 years, as this year he had posted a 2-4 record, 3.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 65 strikeouts, 15 walks, and a .202 BAA in 44.1 innings pitched with San Diego. This move is reminding me of what they traded for Andrew Miller, except they gave up more and recieved more. They had to get a great reliever to help them for the playoffs and this is no different. Now, I’m not saying that he’ll take them to a pennant, but I’m saying he’ll definitely help the push. If it doesn’t work out this year, then they don’t have to worry, because Hand is under contract until 2022, so this year and three more years.
Cimber is a very underrated pickup to compliment Hand. For the Padres, he posted a 3-5 record, 3.17 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 51 SO, 10 BB, and a .237 BAA in 48.1 innings pitched. Although this is his first MLB season, he looks to be a solid future pitcher. His control is solid, and the only problem I really see with him are the amount of hits he gives up, as he has given up 42. Now, for Indians fans who have examined the Padres’ bullpen, they may be somewhat upset that they didn’t include Kirby Yates instead of Cimber, Yates has only had one good year and it was this year. Not to mention Cimber is under contract until 2024! He’s a very good pickup for their team.
This trade is going to help the Indians come October. They’re 100% going to win that terrible division, as they’re the only team there with the Twins not rebuilding. Their bullpen has been really rough this season, as their star reliever Andrew Miller is on the 60-day DL and most of their relievers have underachieved. These additions especially help, because Miller was just transitioned to the 60-day DL today, so I think it’s unlikely that he comes back for the postseason. That said, they’ll have to transition between Hand and Cimber to help them in clutch postseason games.
This trade helps, but it does not make Cleveland pennant contenders at all. None of their relievers have shown to be good except for Hand and Cimber, who haven’t played in any postseason games in their entire careers. They need at least 2 more relievers at the deadline and I can’t stress how much the at least is involved in this. Zach Britton should be at the top of their list and they should get J.A. Happ and move Shane Bieber to the bullpen. That will help, because Bieber will 100% be a long reliever. That’ll help, but it’s still going to be hard for them to get past a team like the Astros or Red Sox.
The grand winner of this trade is probably both teams. If Mejia had a .850+ OPS then I’d definitely say the Padres, but his minor league stats and fielding have been rough for a top prospect. Definitely this trade is going to help both teams, as the Padres could use a good minor league catcher and the Indians can use great relievers. Also, if the Padres didn’t get rid of Cimber they would’ve definitely won and if the Indians didn’t get rid of Mejia they definitely would’ve won. These are “what-ifs” though, and when you look at the actual trade, it was probably a win for both teams until Mejia actually plays in the MLB, and Hand and Cimber get major league experience as Indians relievers.
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