Indians bolster bullpen in trade with Padres
CLEVELAND — ESPN is reporting the Cleveland Indians bolstered their struggling bullpen today with the acquisition of San Diego Padres closer Brad Hand.
The Padres will also send reliever Adam Cimber to Cleveland and will receive highly touted catching prospect Francisco Mejia.
The Indians lead the AL Central by 7½ games, but their bullpen is second-to-last in the league in ERA at 5.28. Last season, Cleveland had the best bullpen ERA in baseball.
The Indians lost relievers Joe Smith and Bryan Shaw to free agency, but the holdovers have struggled as well. Closer Cody Allen's ERA was 2.94 last season but is 4.66 this season. Andrew Miller has gone from 1.44 to 4.40 and he has spent time on the disabled list. Dan Otero's ERA has skyrocketed from 2.85 to 5.60.