The Washington Nationals have traded reliever Brad Hand to the Toronto Blue Jays for prospect catcher Riley Adams, the Nationals announced.
Trading Hand is expected to be a number of moves made in the next two days in a presumed fire sale for Washington. Hand was deemed as one of the Nationals’ top-three trade targets by teams alongside pitchers Max Scherzer and Daniel Hudson.
The 31-year old Hand signed a one-year deal with the Nationals to be their closer. He appeared in 41 games this season for Washington, registering a 3.59 ERA in 42.2 innings. He has 21 saves while blowing five.
Hand’s struggles were laminated as of late. He blew back-to-back save opportunities or July 25 and 26. He also took the loss in three straight appearances dating back to July 21. Now, he will get a chance to hit the reset Up North with the Blue Jays. Toronto is currently 4.5 games back for the second American League wild card.
Who is Riley Adams?
Meanwhile, Washington gets a young prospect at catcher. It’s a position that Washington is in dire need of addressing for it’s future. Adams, 25, was a third-round draft pick of the Blue Jays. He is considered a top-30 prospect.
This season, he hit .239/.371/.487 with 16 walks, seven home runs and 17 RBIs in 35 games for Triple-A Buffalo. He also appeared in 12 games with the Blue Jays. However, he struggled mightily hitting .107/.167/.179 with two walks in 30 plate appearances.
Adams now joins Tres Barrera, who was just optioned to Triple-A Rochester, and Israel Pineda as the Nationals’ top prospects at catcher.
