Phillies Sign All-Star Lefty Reliever

The Philadelphia Phillies barely missed out on making the MLB Playoffs in 2021 thanks in part to the 4.60 ERA posted by their bullpen unit (No. 25 in MLB). They have already made a few offseason moves to address the issue, including signing All-Star left-handed reliever Brand Hand in free agency.

Left-handed reliever Brad Hand and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a one-year, $6 million contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 14, 2022

Phillies Free Agency

Hand agreed to a one-year deal worth $6 million on Monday and immediately slides into a prominent role in manager Joe Girardi's group of relievers. Of course, the Phillies have already signed Jeurys Familia and Corey Knebel in an attempt to build some much-needed bullpen depth moving forward.

The 31-year-old hurler is coming off a 2021 season in which he posted a 6-7 record, 3.90 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 68 appearances with three different MLB squads. Keep in mind, Hand led the league in saves back in 2020 (16) and made his third All-Star game appearance in 2019 as well.

Hand's strikeout rate took a dip last summer and he struggled to avoid walking opposing batters. His fastball velocity was improved, though, as he looks to rebound with a solid campaign in 2022. While Hand has been a closing option during his career, that won't be necessary with Knebel on the roster.

The Phillies will look to keep up in an NL East division that features no shortage of competition. The Atlanta Braves are the reigning World Series Champions and the New York Mets, who have made some of the biggest signings of the offseason.

For now, Philadelphia has odds set at +600 to win the division and odds set at +4000 to earn the Commissioner's Trophy, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.