We were aware that the Braves had five contract options to choose from heading into the weekend. Out of the five decisions to make, veteran reliever Brad Hand may have been the easiest choice

. Hand’s $7 million mutual option, which includes a $500K buyout, was rejected by the Braves today. Hand can now claim, if anything, to have played for every team in the National League East.

At last season’s trade deadline, Hand was acquired from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Alec Barger. Hand was essentially more bullpen depth and someone the team wanted to lean on against tough left-handed hitters such as Bryce Harper.

Once he arrived in Atlanta, Hand pitched 18 innings to a 7.50 ERA and 4.03 FIP. Despite his poor performance, Hand showed enough flashes late to warrant Atlanta carrying him on the NLDS roster for the sole purpose of getting the Phillies heavy-hitting lefties out.

Hand gave up a home run to Harper on a hanging slider in the NLDS after pitching one inning against the top of the Philadelphia order.

His splits between LHB and RHB are enough to warrant some MLB teams finding a role for him. Hand’s 2023 slash line against right-handed hitters was.317/.386/.575 against them. Hand gave up a.200/.297/.288 slash line to left-handed hitters.

His sweeper-sinker combo is a pretty deadly weapon to use against left-handed sluggers. But the world’s lefty specialists are an endangered species due to the three-batter minimum.

Despite having a poor season in 2023, Brad Hand has had a good career as a reliever, and he should have no issue finding work the following season. There are still a few openings in the Braves bullpen, so if Hand is still available as a free agent in February, do not be shocked if AA calls.