Mets activate Brad Hand, place Dom Smith on bereavement list

The Mets have placed Dom Smith on the bereavement list and activated Brad Hand, who they claimed on waivers from the Blue Jays yesterday.

Hand was purported to be one of the team’s offseason targets after making the All-Star team for Cleveland and San Diego in three consecutive seasons from 2017 through 19 and accumulating a league-high 16 saves for Cleveland in 2020. He signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Nationals this past offseason, and he pitched steadily in D.C., where he put up a 3.59 ERA and saved 21 games in 26 opportunities. His 4.33 FIP was his highest mark since 2012, however, and in Washington’s midseason firesale, he found himself traded to Toronto for catcher Riley Adams.

Hand struggled in his month in Toronto, making only 11 appearances with a 7.27 ERA in the process. The Blue Jays cut him on August 31 after reinstating him from the bereavement list, and the Mets picked him up two days later. Hand now joins Aaron Loup as one of two lefties in the Mets bullpen.