Baseball’s offseason has hit the home stretch, as the time has come for clubs to make their final moves to improve their rosters.
For general manager A.J. Preller and the San Diego Padres, the top priority for the remainder of January will be solidifying the pitching staff. On Friday, they took a step towards doing this by bringing back Brad Hand and Brandon Maurer for 2017.
Hand was quite possibly the most underrated player on the roster in 2016, quietly posting a 2.92 ERA over 82 appearances. A one-year contract will ensure that the southpaw will once again occupy a very important role in the bullpen.