Philadelphia Phillies: It is time to bring Cole Hamels back home

After a few years away, it is time to bring the former Philadelphia Phillies World Series Hero back home.

Ever since the Philadelphia Phillies made the (wise) decision to deal Cole Hamels to the Texas Rangers at the 2015 trade deadline, many fans have dreamed of the day where Philadelphia would return to prominence. To add to those dreams, the idea of Hamels returning to the Phils’ to put them over the top has always been out there. Well, while he may not put them over the top currently, a return to Philadelphia could make a lot of sense for all parties involved.

The trade deadline in 2018 gave the Phillies a chance to make this dream become a reality, as the Rangers were fading fast and were looking to offload some veterans. To heighten this even more, Philadelphia was in the midst of a bit of a breakout, as they were one of the surprise teams in contention in the middle of the 2018 season. Inevitably, these hopes were crushed when the Chicago Cubs swooped in and made a deal to acquire the veteran left hander.

Fast forward to last offseason, and Hamels found himself as a free agent for the first time in his big league career. Aspirations of a return to the Phillies quickly resurfaced amongst the fan base. Once again, we were all let down when Cole ended up signing a massive one-year/$18 million contract with the division rival Atlanta Braves.

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Up to the point of his signing with Atlanta, Hamels still found himself as one of the best left-handed starting pitchers in all of Major League Baseball. The 2019 season saw Cole post strong numbers; a record of 7-7 with an ERA of 3.81 in 27 starts is nothing to sneeze at for a 35 year old veteran. Unfortunately, the wheels fall off a bit this past season in Atlanta, as Hamels’ year never really even got off the ground.

His season debut did not come until mid September, and when all was said and done, he only made one appearance for the Braves due to a variety of ailments. An 8.10 ERA in 3.1 innings of work, certainly nowhere near the return Atlanta expected on their investment.

Now once again back on the open market, could we FINALLY see the return of #35 in red pinstripes? It certainly is possible, even with the Philadelphia Phillies desire to shed some payroll. You would have to imagine that Cole would not get anywhere near the $18 million commitment he got last year from Atlanta. Evan Macy from “The Philly Voice” has speculated that Hamels may cost in the range of $8 million, and Matt Rappa from “That Balls Outta Here” has even tossed around the idea of Hamels returning as a player/coach.

I wouldn’t be able to comment too far on the player/coach idea (although it is very intriguing), however, a commitment of $8 million could be one heck of a bargain. This is even better when you realize at best the Phils’ would look to Cole as a third starter, and in reality maybe even as their fourth starter, thanks to the emergence of Zach Eflin this past season.

While this past year was essentially lost, Cole Hamels has been fantastic pretty much his whole career. From 2006-2015 with the Philadelphia Phillies, he produced a 114-90 record with an ERA of 3.30 ERA, 14 complete games, and 7 shutouts. Throw in a 7-4 postseason record in red pinstripes, an NLCS MVP, a World Series MVP, and of course a World Series Championship in 2008. He is easily one of the most decorated players in team history, and arguably the second best left-handed starter the Phillies have ever had behind Steve Carlton.

Let’s also not forget his very impressive resume outside of Philadelphia, as he piled up a 49-32 regular season record to go with an ERA of 3.75 with the Rangers, Cubs, and Braves.

While of course this past 2020 season could easily be a sign of father time finally catching up with our ol’ pal Cole, it could also be an outlier in an incredibly strange year where a pandemic essentially halted all baseball activities until the middle of the summer.

With a desire to win without overspending, the Philadelphia Phillies may be wise to kick the tires on a Cole Hamels reunion. A rotation of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Zach Eflin, Cole Hamels, and Spencer Howard could be one of the better groups in the National League, and could go a long way towards the return of October baseball in the city of brotherly love.

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Until he officially calls it quits, the idea of a Philadelphia return will always exist, so why not make it a reality? It would make many people in the Delaware Valley incredibly happy, and would make for one heck of a story for the 2021 season.

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