MLB Trade Retrospective: Texas Rangers Acquire Cole Hamels
A look back at the MLB deadline week trade in 2015 when the Texas Rangers acquired Cole Hamels from the Philadelphia Phillies.
One of the biggest deals at the trade deadline last year was an eight-player swap between the Texas Rangers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies were in full rebuilding mode and the Rangers were looking for a frontline starting pitcher. The Phillies had already traded closer Jonathan Papelbon and outfielder Ben Revere earlier in the week and now they would trade away their best starting pitcher. They sent Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, and cash to the Texas Rangers for left-handed pitcher Matt Harrison, right-handed pitchers Jerad Eickhoff, Alec Asher, and Jake Thompson, catcher Jorge Alfaro, and outfielder Nick Williams.
At the time of this deal last year, the Rangers were on the periphery of contention. With a record of 50-52, they were in third place in the AL West, seven games out of first. They were also five games out of a wild card spot. This was better than expected by the experts. Before the season, the Rangers had been projected by most publications to win between 73 and 79 games. Sports Illustrated, for example, had them projected to win 73 games and finish fourth in the AL West.
One of the bigger problems for the Rangers was a starting rotation without a frontline pitcher. Ace Yu Darvish would miss the entire season with Tommy John surgery and the rest of the rotation couldn’t make up for the loss of the team’s best starting pitcher. In the first half of the 2015 season, the Rangers starting pitchers were ninth in the AL in ERA and 13th in innings pitched out of 15 teams.
Over in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies were 40-64 and 15.5 games out of first in the NL East. They had the worst record in baseball. They also had an expensive Cole Hamels fronting their starting rotation. Hamels had three-plus years left on a contract that would pay him $23.5 million per year through 2018, with a team option for 2019. A franchise with as grim an outlook as the Phillies didn’t need a $23.5 million pitcher.
With the Rangers needing an ace and the Phillies willing to deal one, the two team matched up on this eight-player swap. At the time of this deal, Cole Hamels was 6-7 with a 3.64 ERA (3.27 FIP), 1.18 WHIP, and 9.6 K/9. Reliever Jake Diekman was 2-1, with a 5.15 ERA (3.65 FIP), 1.75 WHIP, and 12.0 K/9.
Of the six players the Phillies got back in this trade, only one had major league experience. Left-handed pitcher Matt Harrison had started three games for the Rangers and had a 6.75 ERA (6.07 FIP) in 16 innings. The other five players were prospects.
Next: The Rangers Make a Run