Something about the city of Chicago seems to have made a real impact on Jason Hammel. The right-handed made it clear that he’d be open to a return to the Cubs when the team traded him last June to the Oakland Athletics along with Jeff Samardzija. There was a clear level of comfort with the team and working with pitching coach Chris Bosio, enough so that the veteran agreed to a two year deal to return to the Cubs on Monday.
He’ll reportedly earn $18 million over the life of the deal. The club holds an option for a third year at $10 million, with $2 million buyout.
Hammel’s 2014 season was really a tale of two halves, but collectively he may have put together the best season of his career. With the Cubs he made 17 starts, going 8-5 with a 2.98 ERA and 1.021 WHIP in 108.2 IP. Once he joined the A’s, however, he went just 2-6 with a 4.26 ERA and 1.286 WHIP in 67.2 IP. Overall he finished with a 3.47 ERA with a career best 1.123 WHIP and 8.1 K/9.
Over his nine year career he has a 4.60 ERA and 1.392 WHIP in over 1,100 innings of work. Hammel has spent time with the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, and Baltimore Orioles in addition to the Cubs and A’s.
Bringing Hammel back makes a ton of sense for the Cubs, who are still in pursuit of bigger-name options on the free agent market as they look to bolster their starting rotation. For all of the position player prospects the club has been able to develop over the past few years, they remain limited with pitching prospects that are ready to step up and make an impact on the rotation.