It’s no secret that Theo Epstein and the Chicago Cubs are fans of Philadelphia Phillies lefty Cole Hamels. During the 2014 season they claimed Hamels off revocable waivers but couldn’t work out a trade with the Phillies. Now reports have surfaced indicating that the Cubs plan to pursue a trade for Hamels this offseason.
On Wednesday, Jon Heyman reported that the Cubs will attempt to trade for the 30-year-old Hamels, who has a fairly restrictive no-trade clause. The Cubs aren’t currently on his list of teams he would be willing to go to, but that could change.
Hamels wouldn’t come cheap, but Chicago is currently loaded with prospects. The Cubs would likely have to part with one of their top guys and a few lower level prospects in order to make a deal happen, but the Phillies really need an infusion of youth so a deal isn’t out of the question.
The big issue for the Cubs will be taking on the four years and $90 million Hamels has left on his deal, plus a $20 million club option in 2019, which could wind up being a $24 million vesting option. That’s a lot of money for a guy who is surely past his peak.
In 2014, Hamels went 9-9 with a 2.46 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in 204.2 innings over 30 starts. If you judge by WAR, it was the best season of his career at 6.6. But, again, he’s on the wrong side of 30 and while he has been remarkably consistent during his career, his arm also has more than 1,800 innings of tread on it. He’s a three-time All-Star and a former World Series MVP, but those days seem a bit distant.
If Epstein wants to take the Cubs down the road of throwing huge money around, he might want to pause and remember what happened when he did that with the Boston Red Sox. Once he started handing out big contracts, egos got in the way of the team’s previously phenomenal chemistry. He has been very patient rebuilding things on the North Side, it would be a shame if he didn’t learn from his mistakes in Boston.
Hamels is a very good pitcher and the Cubs will go after him. But he may not be worth the price tag.