Cole Hamels has made just one major league appearance since the end of the 2019 season, but the four-time All-Star continues to look for a return to the mound. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the free agent southpaw is currently “feeling good” and targeting next spring for another comeback attempt.
The past few seasons have been trying for Hamels, who turns 39 years old in December. He tossed 141 2/3 innings of 3.81 ERA ball with the Cubs in 2019, earning an $18MM deal from the Braves in the process. That didn’t pan out, as Hamels was shut down during the July ramp-up for the shortened season due to a triceps issue. He returned in September, made one 3 1/3 inning start, then landed back on the IL with a shoulder injury that ended his year.
Hamels lingered on the free agent market through the first half of last season as he rehabbed from the shoulder issue. He resurfaced in mid-July with a showcase that led to a $1MM contract with the Dodgers a couple weeks later. Within two weeks, he’d been shut back down after experiencing renewed shoulder discomfort during a simulated game. Hamels didn’t make an official appearance as a member of the L.A. organization, and he hit free agency again at the end of the year.
Last November, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported that Hamels underwent surgery and was targeting a late-2022 return. That’s apparently no longer in the cards, as Heyman writes that the 15-year MLB veteran “has decided to take his time with his comeback plans.” That’d mark two straight seasons without any game action — and less than four innings in the past three years — but it seems Hamels remains determined to give things a go once he’s had enough time to build back from the shoulder procedure.
The long layoff certainly means Hamels will need to conduct another showcase and be amenable to minor league contracts to return to affiliated ball. Nevertheless, there’ll be no cost for organizations to check in on his form at some point next offseason. Hamels is one of the most accomplished pitchers of his generation, owner of a 3.43 ERA in just shy of 2700 big league innings. He has 11 sub-4.00 ERA seasons to his name and had been a paragon of durability during his prime. Hamels eclipsed 180 innings in every year between 2007-16 and worked 130+ frames for each of the first 14 seasons of his career.
I can’t imagine this working, but hey, it would certainly be cool. Phillies are prolly gonna need a SP or two…
I do. I recently spoke with him and his cutter has added life from years long lay off
No bro, that was Hole Camels
I’m back baby!
Why? $210M at 39 yo. Why?
Can’t shoot below 90 on the golf course. He doesn’t like fishing, he doesn’t like hunting and I guess he doesn’t like airplanes?
I heard he invested everything he had a year ago in Peloton.
God I hope not, the only thing worse would be a bitcoin mining company…like any of them publicly traded
Some people love to play the game
Shocking comment from a Braves fan. I mean perhaps you were in a coma?
This dude is burnt hamburger, he’s done,
Hasn’t pitched in almost 3 years, hang’em up.
Maybe he just loves the game.
Maybe he’s broke and owes a ton of child support….the question is, at 39, not having pitched since 2019, will he find another sucker organization like the Dodgers who basically threw $1 million dollars away on an attempted comeback with Hamels……..this article seems to build a case based on statistics from 2016 and before as far as innings etc……by far a Verlander only comes along once in a generation and that ain’t Hamels!
He’s made over $210M in his career. Some athletes are very bad with their money, but odds are he’s not strapped for cash.
Dodgers who basically threw $1 million dollars away on an attempted comeback with Hamels…
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There are a dozen+ guys like this every year. Some make it and some fail. Right now there are 5 guys 38 or older, 50 IPs or more, and FIP of 4.62 or less. If you are signing a guy for $1M, and he passes the physical, it seems like a cheap gamble.
No where does it say 210 million in article….over sensitive munchkin
Comment was a bit unclear, but I think ment Cole Hamels’ career earnings. (Not sure if the math adds up but should be what he ment.)
Nothing unclear about it. I don’t think anyone assumed that Cole wanted $210,000,000 for one season.
Mark Mulder attempted a similar comeback after about a 3 year lay off due to shoulder issues. It was looking promising then he tore his Achilles running during warm up in spring training, then retired. Let the process take its course it different for everyone
Told him not to put it all in Crypto
Great career. It would be cool to see him get healthy and have one final chapter then retire on his own terms. Recently it’s been more of a question of health than talent, but it does seem pretty unlikely at this point.
Best he could probably do is Ben Sheets. Put everything you have into a few good starts before coasting into the sunset.
Appears that Mr. Hamels’ agent now owes Jon Heyman a favor……
The way the game is played.
Ryan Howard next?
Why not if Hamels is signed….sure Ryan thinks he has a couple of great at bats left in him LOL!
I – unfortunately- live in Chicago and saw him last summer leaving a CVS with his sons…If you are a Phillies’s fan..he’s hard to miss…
Said hey Cole, raised in Philly we miss you…He smiled, I said kk you’re A SD guy, no matter what, but you should never have to pay for a beer in Philly….
He should have been more friendly. Stop for a moment and say hi. Take a picture.
Steve Carlton must have been his hero. Hanging on until the left arm falls off.
…wow, unless you are 12..the down vote is ur best friend…
Normally I would agree with everyone above. But seeing what Wainright can do at his age, Hamels might have a chance. Hitters rarely face this type of pitcher anymore. Things are completely upside down from the late 90’s when everyone was trying to develop Maddux/Glavine types. Velocity was the exception, now it’s the rule. Guys who paint the corners, change speeds, generally practice the art of pitching are rare today.
Yes. And again, it’s not like he was ever really bad. At this point, it’s all about staying healthy, which seems unlikely, but if he somehow puts together a stretch of good health, he’ll be a solid backend option that could share some knowledge with a young staff.
Plus, if teams are willing to dole out a cool mil for you to make an appearance, or not, that’s some pretty easy money. Much easier money (and smarter) than most people make. Keep taking teams to the bank for a million as long as they keep taking a (relatively) small risk you’ll pan out. Why not?
Cole needs to find something else to do
He should go into the Cole-slaw business. Pitching is not on the horizon. Someone compared him to Wainwright, Wainwright didn’t miss 3 years.
Maybe he just loves the game.
Yeah but maybe he just loves the game
Why not continue to try, if he can still throw, do what you love to do.
Smart.
He knows if he can make it through a showcase without his arm actually falling off in front of the scouts someone will give him between $7-12 million.
That and the lure of winning another ring. Considering it will very likely be a contender that signs (if he gets one) him to a contract, that is strong motivation. Even more so considering what he’s already earned in MLB.
Hmmm, is this the third such article for each of the last 3 mid-seasons? It’s been awhile since a consistent “comeback-no retirement” has repeated for this long. Manny or Ichiro maybe? I don’t think their situations persisted for as long as Hamel’s has lasted.
Hell, the rangers will sign him. They like bottom of barrel reclaimation projects and he can mentor Cole ragans
How bad can this guy be hurting for money?No doubt he’ll want $1M minimum, give the team 3.2 innings, and be shut down for the rest of the year. Money not well spent. Caveat Emptor!
Maybe he just loves the game.
There an echo in here?
Echoes cause cancer.
Yes, it the comments that Hamels is just doing this for money and should give up. Just trying to counter them with a reasonable counterpoint.
Pity the GM to sign Mr Hamels who will hear the line from “Forest Gump”: “Momma says “Stupid is as stupid does.”
I thought you were going for, “It hit me right in the buttocks”
At his age and all the time off, if he’s going to pitch again, Hamels should focus on being a reliever…
Do you really need to make a comeback to join a beer league?
Maybe Cole wants to be the next Rich Hill…
I honestly think he wants to be the next Jamie Moyer tbh.
That would be very cool, but does seem unlikely given his injury history.
It won’t hurt to give Hamels a look. Maybe he could sign with one of the independent leagues. The Long Island Ducks always sign former major leaguers who are looking for another chance.
At best a minor league deal, why would you pay more for someone who can’t pitch? Anyone else can do a better job than him
It’s not that he can’t pitch. It’s that he can’t stay healthy. He pitches well when healthy.
I’d offer the Major league minimum plus $2500 for every inning he completes. NO more stealing teams’ money sitting on the IL. You want it, you work for it. He was a good pitcher. Emphasis on
Past tense. If he loves the game so much, tell him to figure out how to earn it. Maybe he needs a PRP injection, a la Bartolo Colon. Or a visit to St Augustine FL to drink from the fountain of youth. But have him work with that heavily laden incentive contract i mentioned. To be honest, he’s not worth more payroll risk than that.
Saw him in OCNJ the other day
Uncle Bill’s?
A show me contract at 1m with bonuses and a 2nd year team option at a back end starter type salary could be good for a non-contender in a rebuild if they have the rotation/roster space to put him. Add in an opt out for him if the team doesn’t play him for whatever reason.
a second year option probably a stretch though given his age.
He’ll get a minor league deal with a incentivized deal based on innings pitched if he makes the club. .
Been 23 years since I played, but I too am considering a comeback
I would not be shocked to see Bloom go after him, assuming his workouts and medicals were okay. We’re losing Wacha, probably Eovaldi. The best case scenario is Sale, Paxton, Whitlock, Pivetta, and then a combination of Wink + Crawford, and maybe Hill.
And no one like pitching depth more than Bloom.
Bloom would never add him as a starter. He would either need to accept being a reliever or get stuffed in the minor. Probably goes to a team coming out a rebuild or just starting to compete. I’m thinking Texas, Seattle, Phillies.
We added Hill, and he is 42. We added Wacha, and he had a 5.39 ERA in his two previous seasons. IMO, I think Bloom adds anyone that he thinks can give him some innings with a league-average ERA or better.
That said, Hamels returning to Philly would be a heck of a thing. He could be bad, and it would still take a month before the natives started getting restless.
I think Connor Seabold or Bryan Bello get a look over Crawford moving forward. We are almost certainly losing Wacha if he continues to pitch this good through the end of the season, someone will give him a multi year deal. Unfortunately i don’t see them giving Eovaldi anything close to what Dombrowski gave him so yeah, he’s probably gone too.
However, Bloom did pull Martin Perez, Garrett Richards, Wacha, and Hill off the scrap heap to varying degrees of success so you can’t discount his ability to find an arm or two that no one will think about and have him pan out.
Watching Perez and Richards pitch physically made me sick. I see them letting Eovaldi go if Sale has a good couple months to end the season. I see Houck being moved back into the starting rotation it’d be Sale, Pivetta, Paxton, Houck and Whitlock. They aren’t going to try to bring up those marginal prospects into the rotation. Bloom is going to keep Hill for depth and look for high leverage relief help instead. This is dependent on Sale’s and Paxton’s recovery of course. If Sale looks bad at least Wacha and maybe Eovaldi too get resigned and Sale ends up in the bullpen or benched.
Everyone is so quick to criticize. If he’s healthy and can toss the ball well enough, let him try it. His body will tell him if he’s done, not some anonymous commenter on the internet who probably can’t hit the side of a barn with a baseball from 20 feet.
Good for him and God Bless his efforts.
His body has been telling him for 3 years now…..he’s not listening!
People heal.
After the great Yankee collapse of 2022, they’ll sign him to a 12 year, $600 billion contract.
Maybe Astros will take him to bang trash cans or something.
Hall of Really Good
First, I agree. Hamels does not belong in the HoF. Not too far off, but far enough.
But secondly, I hate the term Hall of Really Good. It makes no sense. If you want to besmirch a player by saying they’re not good enough for the Hall you should say something like Hall of Moderately Known. Really Good doesn’t have any relation to the word Fame.
I think he wants 3000 strikeouts. I think that number helps him get into the Hall. I think he knows he’s close and getting a couple more milestones puts him in Cooperstown.
He will be 39 years old and would need at least 3 seasons minimum to get the extra 440 strikeouts for 3000. That will not happen.
Braves Legend Cole Hamels
Cole Hamels #foreverComeback
It makes sense on his end not to push for a comeback at the end of this year and risk another injury in the process. Build up strength then get back into a routine during spring training. It also makes sense for a rebuilding team pushing closer towards contending like the Pirates or Orioles that have some solid position players on the club and/or close to breaking into the show to offer him a minors deal with incentives for number of starts he makes in the bigs. Worst case scenario he’s toast and you cut him in the spring or dfa him by June. Best case scenario you get a solid #4 for the rotation who can mentor a young, developing pitching staff.
He and Jerad Eichkoff, the player the Phillies traded him for, should play catch. Just catch. Neither one can pitch anymore.
Perhaps Jason Hammel is working out as well for a comeback showcase together.
I think it only works if he come as a reliever. A starter it ain’t working
four or five seasons and 3k is a lock, I dont know why he cant pitch at 44.
I’d bet Grienke could pitch until he was 45 with how well he commands the strike zone.
Thats what it will take from Hamels too, he’ll have to reel in the walks and pitch to the defense.
Bartolo Colon made the allstar team at 43 and pitched to 45 but he had success because he had an excellent BB/9 and pitched to the defense.