Philadelphia Phillies rumors: Finally time for that Cole Hamels reunion?

A player who has been heavily linked to the Philadelphia Phillies over the past few seasons, the time for a Cole Hamels reunion to take place could finally be among us. After taking a few months off to focus on his health and overall throwing shape, the former World Series MVP is scheduled to have a showcase for interested MLB teams later this week.

Presumably, Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies will be in attendance:

While the Phillies have in fact managed to milk out a handful of productive starts out of the likes of Vince Velasquez and Matt Moore this season, the simple reality of the situation is that a playoff caliber rotation can’t consist of two 5.00+ ERA starters. Velasquez in particular has really struggled as of late, boasting a 6.89 ERA over his last seven starts.

Moore on the other hand has been more of a glorified “opener” this season as opposed to anything else, as he’s yet to make it past five innings during a start. Considering just how shaky the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen has been this season, the added stress of Moore and/or Vince leaving starts early certainly isn’t helping things.

With two rotation holes likely needing to be filled moving forward, it only makes sense for Dombrowski to express some serious, genuine interest into the likes of Hamels. Obviously the return of Cole would do wonders for fan morale as well, seeing as he’s one of the more beloved players in team history due to the role that he played during the ’08 World Series.

Hamels would also add some much-needed experience to the clubhouse, as it appears this current group of guys is still lacking in the leadership department quite a bit. Hamels is a former World Series champion who’s been apart of multiple playoff teams – the guy knows how to win.

If there was ever a time for Cole Hamels to return to the Philadelphia Phillies, it would be now.

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While Hamels logged just 3.1 innings of work this past season with the Atlanta Braves, his 2019 campaign was a very respectable one. He made 27 starts for the Chicago Cubs that year, recording a 3.81 ERA and just over 5.0 innings pitched per start. It was a strong season for someone of Hamels’ age, one that would see him firmly entrenched as the Phillies #4 starter should he replicate it.

While there’s still a debate raging on in regards to if the Phillies should be “buyers” or “sellers” at this year’s trade deadline, filling at least one of their roster holes for the remainder of the season by way of Hamels would only make life easier. Both Velasquez and Moore certainly aren’t helping the team get any closer to their goal of making the postseason, and there’s of course the off-chance that Hamels is able to duplicate his 2019 performance, which would give the Phillies one of the better rotations in baseball.

Even if Hamels completely flames out and ends up being a total disaster here in 2021, the risk would still be worth it. The Philadelphia Phillies desperately need better back-end starting pitching if they want any sort of real shot at the playoffs this year – Hamels at least has some upside to his name.