3 Phillies free agents who left that the fans will not miss in 2023

1. Phillies fans will not miss Brad Hand and his deceptive ERA

Brad Hand was not a bad member of the Phillies bullpen last year. Although his deceptive 2.80 ERA makes it seem as if he was reliable, this was hardly the case.

Hand’s time as one of the best closers in baseball is up. It began in 2021 when he bounced between three ball clubs. The Phillies, willing to take a chance on several ex-closers last year, signed him to a one-year deal. Hand would make 55 appearances out of the bullpen while only making his way through 45 innings of work. Even with the three-batter minimum rule in place, Hand made a lot of one-out appearances because he’d either walk a few batters or finish off an inning.

The performance was far from dominant. His 1.33 WHIP and 4.6 walks per 9 weren’t very good. Neither was his 7.6 strikeouts per 9. He was used carefully. It’s why he managed to escape the year with a good ERA.

Hand actually won a game in the NLDS and another in the NLCS. He gave the Phillies a pair of scoreless innings in the World Series as well. The team needed much more out of him for anyone to feel a sense of longing.

Today, Hand remains unsigned but should find his way onto somebody’s big league roster eventually. He may simply have hopes of landing with a contender again. He may need to settle for less.