33 Brad Hand RP

Hand cleared waivers and had his $10 million contract option declined by Cleveland on Friday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Hand was placed on outright waivers Thursday, but no team claimed him under his $10 million price tag. He'll be paid a $1 million buyout by Cleveland, and the southpaw could have to settle for a lesser deal in free agency due to decreased financial flexibility around the league.

Hand was placed on outright waivers by Cleveland on Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

The team intends to decline Hand's $10 million club option and pay him a $1 million buyout should he pass through waivers unclaimed. The veteran lefty has a resume that teams would seemingly be quite happy to pay $10 million for under ordinary circumstances, as he's saved 105 career games and owns a 2.70 ERA and a 33.3 percent strikeout rate over the last five seasons. It's possible this is just an example of Cleveland being cheap, though if Hand does indeed head to free agency, it could be an indicator of just how suppressed the market will be during a pandemic offseason.

Hand gave up two earned runs on three hits and one walk while recording just two outs Wednesday, taking the blown save and the loss in the deciding game of the AL Wild Card Series against the Yankees.

A clean ninth inning would have forced a Game 3, but Hand got into trouble right away, giving up a walk to Giancarlo Stanton followed by singles to Gio Urshela and Gleyber Torres. He then struck out Brett Gardner before allowing a sacrifice fly to Gary Sanchez that tied the game. DJ LeMahieu then singled home the winning run. Cleveland has a $10 million team option for 2021 or it can buy Hand out for $1 million.

Hand was perfect over 1.1 innings, striking out one and earning the save Sunday versus the Pirates.

Hand finished 2020 as the MLB saves leader with 16 in 23 appearances. He also recorded a hold, a 2-1 record, 2.05 ERA and 0.77 WHIP across 22 innings. The 30-year-old closer will look to continue his strong campaign for Cleveland during their postseason run.

Hand struck out two in a perfect ninth inning against the White Sox on Thursday en route to his 15th save of the season.

Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and James McCann went down in order against Hand, the first two on strikeouts. His 15 saves lead baseball, and Hand now has a 2.18 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 28 strikeouts to go along with a pair of wins. It looked early on like James Karinchak was going to usurp Hand in the ninth inning, but Hand held steady and has ended up as the No. 2 closer in fantasy baseball behind only Liam Hendriks.

Hand (2-1) threw a scoreless ninth inning to become the pitcher of record in the Indians' 3-2 win over the White Sox on Wednesday.

A Jordan Luplow game-winning home run gave Hand his second win of the season. In fact, Hand has racked up both wins and four saves through his previous eight appearances, allowing only one run over that stretch. He lowered his season ERA to 2.29 with Wednesday's performance.

Hand worked around a hit to throw a scoreless ninth inning against the Tigers on Friday to earn his 13th save of the season. He struck out two.

The lefty needed 20 pitches, but he eventually shut the door and preserved the shutout after Zach Plesac and James Karinchak tossed eight scoreless innings. Early on, it looked like Karinchak might seize hold of the closer role, but Hand tightened his grip on the job with a stellar performance and has ended up as one of the better closer picks in fantasy baseball this season.

Hand struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning Monday to record his 12th save of the season in a 5-2 win over the Royals.

The southpaw fired 13 of his 15 pitches for strikes in the impressive performance, although his fastball topped out at 92.2 mph. Hand has found a way to be effective despite his reduced velocity -- he has yet to blow a save this season, and he hasn't allowed an earned run since the end of July, giving him a 2.45 ERA and 19:4 K:BB through 14.2 innings.

Hand picked up the save in Sunday's win over Milwaukee, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning.

Hand allowed a single to Ryan Braun to begin the ninth, but got Tyrone Taylor to fly out before getting Jacob Nottingham to ground into a game-ending double play. The southpaw has now converted each of his last seven save chances and holds a 2.63 ERA on the campaign.

Hand secured the save by delivering a scoreless 12th inning during Saturday's win over the Cardinals. He didn't record a strikeout or issue a walk.

The veteran lefty allowed the designated runner on second base, Yadier Molina, to reach third on a wild pitch, but he was able to end the inning on only three pitches as Molina was caught off third base after mistakenly thinking a groundout was a foul ball. Hand allowed five runs (four earned) through his first three outings of the season, but he's surrendered only three hits and two unearned runs in his past eight appearances. He has a 3.38 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 13:4 K:BB over 10.2 innings while converting all 10 save chances this season.

Hand pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Twins.

Hand had a three-run lead to protect, and he did so by retiring Luis Arraez, Miguel Sano and Ehire Adrianza on a combined 12 pitches. The 30-year-old Hand has produced perfect innings in his last three outings. He's lowered his ERA to 3.72 with a 1.03 WHIP, 13 strikeouts and nine saves in 9.2 innings this season. Hand has a strong grasp on the closing job for Cleveland.

Hand earned the save against Minnesota on Tuesday, pitching a perfect ninth inning and notching one strikeout.

Hand had little trouble setting the Twins down in order to close out a two-run win. He tossed 10 of his 14 pitches for strikes en route to his eighth save of the season. The lefty trails only Liam Hendriks (nine) for the league lead.

Hand struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Thursday to record his seventh save of the season in a 2-0 win over the Pirates.

The southpaw needed just 12 pitches (nine strikes) to breeze through the bottom of the Bucs' order. Hand has had some bumpy spots this season, and his 4.70 ERA is actually softened by a couple of unearned runs, but he has yet to blow a save and his 12:4 K:BB through 7.2 innings indicates he can still dominate. His grip on the closer role in Cleveland isn't slipping quite yet.

Hand allowed one hit but struck out the side to record the save Tuesday against the Pirates.

Hand entered the game with a three-run lead in the 10th inning. Even with a runner starting on second base, he held the Pirates scoreless, inducing two swinging strikeouts. After early-season struggles, Hand has not allowed an earned run in any of his last five outings, spanning 4.1 innings. He now has six saves and has generated 10 punchouts across 6.2 frames for the season.

Hand gave up an unearned run on a hit and a walk in the ninth inning Saturday but still came away with his fifth save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Tigers.

The error was a catcher's interference call on Sandy Leon that put Jonathan Schoop on base, setting up a two-out double by JaCoby Jones for Detroit's only run of the night. Hand is not the same dominant reliever he was a couple years ago in San Diego, or even in the first half of last season, but despite his 6.35 ERA he has yet to blow a save in 2020 and maintains a tenuous hold on the closer role in Cleveland.

Hand worked around a walk in a scoreless ninth inning against the Reds on Wednesday en route to his fourth save of the season. He struck out two batters.

The closer carousel is in full swing in MLB, though Hand seems to be regaining his footing in the role after closing out back-to-back games. James Karinchak is breathing down Hand's neck, but it's clear that Hand is still the preferred option in the ninth.

Hand struck out one batter in a perfect ninth inning against the Reds on Tuesday en route to his third save of the season.

There was some uncertainty regarding Hand's role after he took the loss July 29 and then gave way to James Karinchak in a save situation a day later. It's easy to see that Karinchak is the closer of the future for Cleveland, but apparently that future is not here quite yet. Hand can ill afford another stumble in the short term if he's to keep Karinchak at bay.

Hand earned the save in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader against the White Sox after allowing one run on two hits while recording one strikeout during the ninth inning.

The left-hander gave up a leadoff double to Tim Anderson but retired the next two batters, only to surrender an RBI single to Yasmani Grandal. Hand has earned a save in both his appearances this season and has allowed one run on two hits and zero walks while striking out four over two frames.

Hand is expected to lean heavily on his slider in 2020 out of the closer's role, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

Hand secured 34 saves (five blown saves) in 2019 over 57.1 innings, fanning 84 batters while registering a 3.30 ERA over that stretch. Per Hoynes, Hand threw 512 of 946 pitches for sliders a season ago, and that's not expected to change in 2020. He'll have the closer's role locked down whenever the season begins.

Hand is taking more trips to the training room in an effort to keep his arm fresh, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Hand started the 2019 campaign in exceptional form, converting his first 22 save chances successfully while holding opposing batters to a .161 batting average. However, he faltered once the calendar flipped to July, blowing four saves in 15 chances while posting a 4.91 ERA and 1.64 WHIP. Hand noted that his high volume -- he's made 283 appearances across the last four seasons -- may be catching up to him, so he's taken more care to keep his arm fresh this spring.