Brad Hand and Adam Cimber; Five Things to Know About the Two New Indians Relievers and the Trade to Acquire Them

Thursday the Indians announced a deal for two relief pitchers on a team that had a desperate need for arms in the bullpen as they look to make another run to the World Series.

Lefty closer Brad Hand and relief arm Adam Cimber are two players that should pay huge dividends for the Indians right away, and not have fans gasping for air once the team makes a call to the pen when the starter leaves the game.

The team did have to give up prospect Francisco Mejia, but just like when the team dealt for Andrew Miller a few years back, the Indians will have control for Hand and Cimber for years to come, making it a huge deal for the team.

"I think we've talked at different junctures in the past at taking a multi-year approach at team building, and we've placed a premium at acquiring guys that not only can impact one season but a handful of seasons," Indians President Chris Antonetti said on Thursday.

So with Hand and Cimber aboard, some Indians fans don't know all that much about the teams' new players, and today we take a look at five things about them you'll want to know before the team takes the field in Texas on Friday night.

1. Hand Will Be Here for Quite Awhile

Getting Brad Hand for not only today but for the future is a HUGE key to the Indians not having a window close if they don't reach their goal of a World Series title in 2018.

The team has control now of Hand through 2021, as he he signed a three-year, $19.75 million extension in 2018 that has a club option for 2021.

Hand is making $3.5 million this year, $6.5 million next year, $7 million in 2020, and $10 million in 2021.

Considering that their current closer, Cody Allen, is making $10.5 million this season and will be a free agent next year, having a guy that can close games if Allen and Andrew Miller leave (which isn't a stretch by any means) is probably the biggest thing about this deal that made it a winner for the Tribe.

Oh, and it sounds like he's excited to be coming to Cleveland.

Excited to join Cleveland! Can’t wait to get the second half started and meet all the boys! #RallyTogether
— Brad Hand (@bhand22) July 19, 2018

2. Cimber Has Dominated Righties All Season

27-year-old Adam Cimber is the guy in the deal with San Diego that not many people know much about, but the one thing people will like is the fact that he's a righty that has dominated right-handed hitters all season long.

"We think he's a guy that we can leverage in key situations in games to get some of the best right-handed hitters out," Antonetti said on Thursday.

Cimber is 3-5 with a 3.17 ERA this season in 42 games, 48.1 innings for the Padres. He's been getting better and better, 20-11 career minor-league record with a 3.06 ERA and 212 strikeouts and 56 walks in 306 1/3 innings.

While Hand is getting the headlines, Cimber could be just as important to the pen when it comes to the team getting to the postseason and more so being successful against top AL teams.

3. Cimber's "Submarine"

When you see new Indians reliever Adam Cimber throw, you might right away think of it as a submarine, a style of pitching that Dennis Eckersley, Dan Quisenberry and Kent Tekulve made famous and threw with during their successful MLB careers.

Cimber doesn't have the entire submarine down, but it's more of a low sidearm that looks a lot like a submarine pitch.

He started using the pitch at the age of 14, and it worked well enough so he could make his high school baseball team in Portland, Oregon.

In order to make the Padres roster this season, Cimber sat and watched hours upon hours of video of Orioles right-hander Darren O'Day, whose sidearm delivery, pitch mix and velocity are similar to his own.

And speaking of homework, Cimber actually sat and studied every pitch from O'Day's All-Star 2015 season, trying to take away what worked and what he could implement.

It's worked, and while he's been good all year again right-handed batters, he's getting better against lefties.

4. Where Did Hand Come From?

Just two years ago Brad Hand was far from a household name among top Major League relievers, but has continued to develop to the point where he was the big name is Thursday's deal to the Indians.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and drafted by the Marlins in the second-round of the 2008 MLB draft, here he is 10 years later ready to be a huge key in the Indians run to hopefully another World Series.

He was claimed off waivers by the Padres on April 8, 2016, and right away pitched a lot for San Diego, throwing mostly in the 7th innings of games. In 22 of his appearances he threw more than one inning.

In 2016 he threw 89.1 innings, leading the league with 82 appearances. He also averaged 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings on the year, up from 5.9 strikeouts per 9 he averaged over his 90 games with the Marlins.

San Diego moved him into closer role once Brandon Maurer was traded in late July of 2017, and ended up saving 21 games wrapping up the year with a 2.16 ERA and 104 strikeouts.

For the Indians pen, to say he's a welcome addition is an understatement.

5. Control Please

The deal the Indians made on Thursday basically was trading a high-profile prospect in Francisco Mejia for eight seasons of control of two relief pitchers.

When you think about that, it's really a deal that the Indians front office couldn't pass up.

Cimber this season is making $545,000, and the Indians will have him under their control until the 2024 season when he's 33 years old. Not bad.

As for Hand, he's going to be with the Indians (unless they move him or let him go) through 2021, this after he inked a three-year deal with San Diego worth $19.75 million.

It's exactly the type of deal that not only puts the Indians in the running to win the AL this year, but for years to come, as they addressed the biggest need of the team - the ability to get hitters out late in games.

They did it with two players who will be in C-Town for a long time to come.