Grading the Guardians' trade for Brad Hand eight years later

As the next era of theGuardians bullpen takes shape and Cade Smith continues to assert himself as one of the best closers in baseball, there seemed like no better time to grade Cleveland's trade at the 2018 that netted them Brad Hand.

Trade details:

Padres receive: C Francisco Mejia
Guardians receive: LHP Brad Hand and RHP Adam Cimber

Cleveland trade for Brad Hand was one of the team's best deals of the 2010's

San Diego Padres

Starting with the sellers here, the Padres looked like big winners at the time of the trade since it resulted in them getting Mejia, who was Cleveland's top prospect at the time. Mejia became expendable at the deadline thanks to Cleveland having catchers Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez blocking his path to the bigs.

Known for his hit tool as a prospect, Mejia could never figure it out at the Major League level. 

In San Diego, Mejia slashed .229/.282/.398 with an OPS of .680 with only 12 home runs in 319 at-bats across parts of three seasons. 

The Padres pulled the cord on the Mejia experiment after the 2020 season by trading him to the Rays in the deal that sent LHP Blake Snell to San Diego. 

Mejia struggles continued in Tampa Bay and he was eventually designated for assignment in 2023.

He hasn't appeared in the majors since, and is signed with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the Mexican League for the 2026 season. 

Padres’ Grade: F

This grade was fairly simple since the only player they got back in the deal didn't do much of anything in a Padres uniform. 

Although Mejia was eventually part of the package that helped the Padres get Snell, he wasn't the headliner of the deal. Plus the Padres didn't win anything with Snell. While this trade doesn't get as much attention as their 2020 deal with San Diego, it's still a fleece.

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians needed to bolster their bullpen in 2018 since Andrew Miller was battling injuries and Cody Allen was beginning to decline in his age-29 season.

Cimber was acquired in the midst of a solid rookie season with the Padres, but he ended up being nothing more than a middle reliever during his time with Cleveland.

The submariner posted a 4.30 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 88 innings in parts of three seasons in Terry Francona’s bullpen.

The Guardians designated Cimber for assignment after the 2020 season and he spent the next couple years bouncing around. He last appeared in a game in 2024 with the Angels.

However, Hand was exactly what Cleveland needed in 2018.

Hand ended up having a sneaky solid with Cleveland, as he posted a 2.78 ERA with 154 strikeouts and 58 saves in 107 innings. He was an All-Star with Cleveland in 2019 and led all of baseball with 16 saves in the shortened 2020 season.

That said, his time with Cleveland came to an end after that season thanks in large part due to a blown save against the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2020 Wild Card Series.

The Guardians waived him after the season, and he finished his career as a journeyman. He pitched for the Nationals, Blue Jays, Mets, Phillies, Rockies, Phillies, and Braves after leaving Cleveland, and last apperared in MLB in 2023.

Cleveland’s Grade: A

While Hand's time in Cleveland ended on a sour note, Mejia not doing much of anything makes this grade much easier. The Guardians received two reliable arms for the back end of their bullpen for a player who was not a part of their future

Hand was strong throughout his tenure, and Cimber was reliable throughout the 2019 campaign. Overall, the Guardians won this trade even though neither stayed in Cleveland for very long.