Brad Hand comes to the Mets off waivers from the Blue Jays, who recently put Hand on DFA, meaning removed him from the team’s 40-man roster. Hand was almost a Met at the start of the season, but a deal could not be worked out. Hand has a rather mediocre record at 31-50 and this will mark the third team he has played for in the 2021 season after playing 52 games total with both the Blue Jays and Nationals.

Hand’s signing was met with a lot of cynicism by Mets fans who are still trying to come to grips with the news of GM Zack Scott being put on administrative leave after a drunk driving charge two days ago. Here are some of the reactions by Mets fans to the signing of Brad Hand.

Mets fans not too happy with Brad Hand

In his 52 appearances this season, Hand has a 4.21 ERA, but that doesn’t even tell the story of the pitcher the ailing Mets just signed. Hand has blown six saves this season and is at a 1.27 WHIP. In his first 11 appearances for the Blue Jays, Hand produced a shocking 7.27 ERA.

Since Hand signed with the Mets past September 1st, he would not be eligible to play for the club if the Mets make it to the postseason per MLB rules. Hand was strictly brought in to get the Mets to the playoffs although with those numbers Mets fans should not hold their breath.

However, there were two areas where they’ve been kind of weak over the past 3 years or so. The coaching and their bullpen, and now that Dave Roberts finally redeemed himself with that must-win World Series championship, it’s time to address their other flaw.

That’s why, according to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, the reigning World Series champions are reportedly looking to sign free agent LHP Brad Hand if they fail to resign Blake Treinen, who’s most likely joininganother team.

Los Angeles Dodgers Want To Add Brad Hand

“A source told MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi that the World Series champion Dodgers are expressing interest in Hand, and Morosi speculates that Los Angeles could have visions of Hand filling the same role that fellow free agent Blake Treinen just filled in front of closer Kenley Jansen,“ read the report.

However, even though Hand is coming off quite a solid year with the Cleveland Indians, Morosi still claimed that there are some concerns regarding his durability and speed as he enters this stage in his career:

“While Hand put up elite statistics in 2020, his free agency does carry some red flags with declines in his fastball velocity and whiff rate. Still, he struck out one-third of the hitters he faced this year, and a role similar to the one Treinen just played for the Dodgers — as a reliever some teams would still covet as a closer, but who might be best suited as a setup man at this stage of his career — would make a lot of sense for Hand. The Dodgers could also be one of the few teams that could offer Hand a salary close to the $10 million option that all 30 teams declined to pick up after the Indians placed Hand on waivers last month,” he concluded.

Hand would be a massive pickup for the Dodgers and an upgrade over Treinen. Then again, it seems like they should try and prioritize replacing the ever-struggling Kenley Jansen before anything else.