Atlanta Braves: Five All-Star Pitcher Wish List

By John Buhler | Jul 14, 2015

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6. . LHP. Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego. Cole Hamels. 35. player

How things have gone incredibly south in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Phillies are the worst team in baseball at the 2015 MLB All-Star Break. Not all that long ago, the Phillies were a juggernaut in the National League, winning the NL East five consecutive years (2007-11), going to two World Series (’08-’09), and winning it all over the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008.

The Phillies front office hamstrung itself by issuing massive deals to six All-Stars that either became injury prone or stopped producing at an All-Star level. LHP Cole Hamels was one of those highly paid Phillies. Hamels still reluctantly produces for the Phillies as he wants out of Philly due to getting almost no run support the last three plus seasons.

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A 3x All-Star with Philadelphia, Hamels has won a World Series MVP and has a career 3.29 ERA and a 119-93 career record. Even in Philadelphia’s tailspin the last three seasons, Hamels’ ERA has never been above 3.63 and still gives the Phillies 200+ innings every season.

You can tell that the losing is wearing on him and Closer Jonathan Papelbon mightily in Philadelphia. Both have had great success in October before and Philly is nowhere close to getting back into postseason. Given that Cole Hamels plays the Atlanta Braves regularly as a division foe, I think he would entertain an offer to come to Atlanta in the next two seasons once his albatross of a contract expires.

I believe that Cole gets moved by Philly in the next few days. He won’t re-sign wherever he ends up, making him a free agent at the end of the year. Perhaps Hart could look to bring Cole into our rotation as a proven veteran leader?

Next: A 2x Cy Young Winner Reclamation Project?

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