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ANALYSIS: When Brad Hand picked up saves in back-to-back opportunities, many thought it spelled the end of Brandon Maurer's reign as closer of the San Diego Padres. Then, Maurer went on to pick up four saves in a week's time without allowing a hit. Maurer's 5.48 ERA and 53.7% strand rate are very unappealing, especially for a closer, but he appears to be motivated now that some serious heat has been put on him. Maurer does have closer stuff in the sense he strikes out almost 10 batters per nine innings and is only issuing walks 5.3% of the time. A 2.96 SIERA and xFIP of 74 indicate that Maurer is actually pitching much better than his ERA.
Look for Maurer to keep a hold on the closer job even if Hand isn't dealt in the near future. In the event that Hand does get traded, Maurer is once again without competition for save chances, which already makes him worth owning in any league that counts the category. Maurer isn't an especially appealing long-term prospect, but by no means does he belong on the waiver wire unless you're set with multiple closers on your roster. Even then, he or another reliever could be parlayed into trade bait.
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