Brad Hand

Hand joins the Nationals on a one-year deal after Cleveland declined his option. His velocity declined a bit last season, but the league's collective lack of interest in Hand is surprising, given that he's coming off one of the best seasons of his career, led the league in saves, has been a top-10 reliever over the last five seasons, and is a lefty. Dave Martinez wants Hand to be the Nationals' closer based on his comments, but it's unclear whether he'll be the sole option. The Nationals barely have another lefty reliever in their bullpen, let alone a reliable one, so chances are that Hand will be deployed earlier in the game if the opposing team has multiple left-handed hitters due up. All that to say that Hand is a reliable reliever who you should draft for his overall numbers, but he may provide fewer saves than most traditional closers.

Brad Hand will be Nationals' closer 'in a perfect world'

Nationals manager Dave Martinez says LHP Brad Hand will be the team's closer "in a perfect world."

Fantasy Impact

Martinez has talked about cycling through his options in the seventh/eighth/ninth inning, but it sounds like Hand will get the majority of the save chances. The lefty had some decreased velocity in 2020 but the results were still fantastic. He's a top-10 closer entering spring drafts.