MLB trade grades: Braves land bullpen help they seek in deal with Rockies

For the second time in recent days, the Atlanta Braves have plucked a veteran reliever from the Colorado Rockies.

On Tuesday, the Braves landed Brad Hand in a deal with the Rockies, boosting their bullpen. The 33-year-old southpaw was in the World Series last season as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies and will look to help the Braves reach the Fall Classic in 2023. He joins former Rockies teammate Pierce Johnson in Atlanta after Johnson was dealt just over a week ago for a pair of minor league pitchers.

MLB trade grades: Who won Rockies-Braves deal for Brad Hand?

In this one-for-one deal, the Braves now have Hand, in the middle of his 13th MLB season, with the trade ensuring he will have pitched for all five National League East teams in his career. In return, the Rockies get the 25-year-old Barger, a right-handed reliever who was pitching at Double-A Mississippi.

Atlanta Braves trade grade: B+

You can look at Hand’s 4.54 ERA and 1.430 WHIP and immediately think, “Coors.” However, Hand has had a pretty balanced stat line whether pitching at a mile high or sea level (4.91 ERA in Denver and 4.15 ERA everywhere else). Look for Hand to have a role in the sixth or seventh innings of games, a similar role to what he had with the Rockies. He’s a veteran with postseason experience, so that’s a plus for Atlanta. However, he has a 7.56 ERA in 8.1 July innings (covering nine games), so he’ll need to gain manager Brian Snitker’s confidence that he can turn those numbers around quickly.

Colorado Rockies trade grade: C+

From the moment the Rockies signed Hand with spring training already underway, there was the thought that his one-year, $2 million deal would be used at the trade deadline to flip for a prospect. Colorado general manager Bill Schmidt did just that, landing Barger, a 17th-round draft pick in 2019 who has climbed up the Atlanta minor league ladder since the pandemic.

Barger wasn’t among Atlanta’s top 30 prospects, but the Rockies are looking for lottery tickets among controllable young pitchers. They will hope that Barger will keep progressing and eventually be a part of the bullpen.