Toonstruck 1 » The Cleveland Indians announced

Thursday that they acquiredAll-Star closerBrad Handand pitcher Adam Cimber from the San Diego Padres in exchange for catcher Francisco Mejia.Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the deal.Hand has appeared in 41games this season and boasts a 3.17 FIP. His 13.2 strikeouts per nine innings are on pace to be a career high.Hand first became a full-time reliever in 2016 after the Padres claimed him off waivers from the Miami Marlins. The left-hander then enjoyed a career year http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-dixon-machado-jersey ,posting a 2.92 ERA and a 3.07 FIP, and averaging 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings.Hand was even better in 2017 after replacing Fernando Rodney and Brandon Maurer as San Diego's regular closer. He registered 21 saves and struck out an average of 11.8 batters, while his ERA and FIP improved to2.16 and 3.03, respectively.The Padres rewarded Hand with a three-year extension worth $19.7 million. The contract includes a $10 million club option for 2021.Elite closers are generally luxuries for losing teams rather than necessities, but Hand's contract provided the Padres with at least one reason to consider keeping him.By giving Eric Hosmer an eight-year, $144 million deal this past offseason, the franchise indicated it wants to be a winner in the near future.By 2021, San Diego may have climbed toward playoff contention, at which point having somebody such as Hand would be much more important.With that said, Hand's contract also meant the Padres could demand even more in a trade. He's under team control for up to three more years, so San Diego didn't have to settle for a meager return because it risked losing him for nothing in the offseason.General manager A.J. Preller has done well to rebuild the Padres' farm system after they tried to fast-track their journey back to the playoffs in 2015. Much as he did with Craig Kimbrel Justin Verlander Jersey , Drew Pomeranz and James Shields, Preller flipped Hand for younger players who further strengthen one of MLB's best farm systems.Following the 2018 MLB draft, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter placed the Padres third behind the Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox in his farm system rankings. Although San Diego is headed for an eighth straight losing season, the team's outlook is undeniably bright.Although their bullpen was one of their biggest strengths last season, it is now the Indians' biggest Achilles' heel. Andrew Miller is on the DL, and closer Cody Allen currently has a 4.66 ERA.Hand fills a huge need, and Cimber should contribute as well since he has a 3.17 ERA in 41 appearances this season.The 22-year-old Mejia has appeared in just one MLB game this season, but he is a highly touted prospect due to his hitting ability.In 79 games at the Triple-A level, Mejia is hitting .279 with seven home runs and 45 RBI this season.For the Indians, acquiring Hand is a win-now move, but his contract ensures Cleveland has some time to show this trade was worth it. Should the team fall short of its goal in 2018 Houston Astros Jersey , Hand will be around for 2019, 2020 and potentially 2021.Cleveland paid a steep price for Hand, but there are multiple avenues through which this can be a worthwhile venture. Stats are courtesy of FanGraphs SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Willie McCovey, the sweet-swinging Hall of Famer nicknamed “Stretch” for his 6-foot-4 height and those long arms, died Wednesday. He was 80.The San Francisco Giants announced McCovey’s death, saying the fearsome hitter passed “peacefully” on Wednesday afternoon “after losing his battle with ongoing health issues.”A first baseman and left fielder, McCovey was a .270 career hitter with 521 home runs and 1,555 RBIs in 22 major league seasons, 19 of them with the Giants. He also played for the Athletics and Padres.McCovey made his major league debut at 21 on July 30, 1959, and played alongside the other Willie — Hall of Famer Willie Mays — into the 1972 season before Mays was traded to the New York Mets.McCovey batted .354 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs on the way to winning the 1959 NL Rookie of the Year award. The six-time All-Star also won the 1969 NL MVP and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986 after his first time on the ballot.“You knew right away he wasn’t an ordinary ballplayer http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-gerrit-cole-jersey ,” Hall of Famer Hank Aaron said, courtesy of the Hall of Fame. “He was so strong, and he had the gift of knowing the strike zone. There’s no telling how many home runs he would have hit if those knees weren’t bothering him all the time and if he played in a park other than Candlestick.”McCovey had been getting around in a wheelchair in recent years because he could no longer rely on his once-dependable legs, yet was still regularly seen at the ballpark in his private suite. McCovey had attended games at AT&T Park as recently as the season finale.“I love him so much. It’s a very sad day for me. We were very close,” Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda said in a telephone interview. “Willie McCovey was not only a great ballplayer but a great teammate. He didn’t have any fear. He never complained.“I remember one time in 1960 they sent him down to the minor leagues after being Rookie of the Year the year before. He didn’t complain. He was very polite, he was very quiet. He was a great man, a great friend. I’m going to miss him so much. He didn’t say a bad word about anybody.”While the Giants captured their third World Series title of the decade in 2014, McCovey returned to watch them play while still recovering from an infection that hospitalized him that September for about a month.He attended one game at AT&T Park during both the NL Championship Series and World Series. He even waited for the team at the end of the parade route inside San Francisco’s Civic Center.“It was touch and go for a while,” McCovey said at the time. “They pulled me through, and I’ve come a long way.”McCovey had been thrilled the Giants accomplished something he didn’t during a decorated career in the major leagues.Even four-plus decades later, it still stung for the left-handed slugging “Big Mac” that he never won a World Series after coming so close. The Giants lost the 1962 World Series to the New York Yankees.He often thought about that World Series Hector Rondon Jersey , and it remained difficult to accept. The Giants lost 1-0 in Game 7 when McCovey lined out to second baseman Bobby Richardson with runners on second and third for the final out.“I still think about it all the time. I still think, ‘If I could have hit it a little more,'” he said on Oct. 31, 2014.In 2012, he said: “I think about the line drive, yes. Can’t get away from it.”McCovey narrowly beat out Mets pitcher Tom Seaver for the 1969 MVP award. McCovey led the NL in home runs (45) and RBIs (126) for the second straight year, batting .320 while also posting NL bests with a .453 on-base percentage and .656 slugging percentage. He was walked 121 times, then drew a career-high 137 free passes the next season.He had been third in the ’68 voting for NL MVP, but after 1969 would never again finish higher than ninth.McCovey and Ted Williams before him were among the first players to really face infield shifts as opponents tried to affect his rhythm at the plate.On Wednesday night, former teammate Felipe Alou recalled inviting McCovey to play winter ball with him in 1958 for Escogido in Alou’s native Dominican Republic.McCovey got homesick, so a still-single Alou moved out of his parents’ home and into an apartment with his dear friend and teammate. They were roommates in the minors and majors Anthony Gose Jersey , too. McCovey called Alou “Rojas,” his father’s last name. Alou called him “Willie Lee,” McCovey’s middle name.“We had a great relationship. Incredible friend and player and individual,” Alou said. “I have so many good memories.”McCovey was born on Jan. 10, 1938, in Mobile, Alabama. He had spent the last 18 years in a senior advisory role for the Giants.“