Texas Rangers: Is Cole Hamels A Cause For Concern?

Cole Hamels has been in Arlington for two and a half years now. When the Texas Rangers acquired him from the Philadelphia Phillies, there high expectations for him. However, the Rangers haven’t gone very far with Hamels as their ace.

Hamels is 33-12 in 68 regular season starts with the Texas Rangers. While Hamels does well during the regular season, it’s the postseason where the Rangers have not seen anything from Hamels.

Since joining the Rangers, the postseason has been a nightmare for Hamels as he’s 0-2. He hasn’t won a playoff game since 2011. Many are convinced that Hamels was not the right acquisition that would the Rangers reach the World Series again. Some may say this is a waste of a trade. So is Hamels a true cause for concern?

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Hamels will be 34 in December. The fact that he’s an aging veteran is certainly a cause for concern because he’s not the same pitcher he was in his younger days. We can’t expect him to be the same pitcher he was when he won the World Series in 2008 where he was also the MVP. It’s certainly nonsense to expect a 34-year-old pitcher to still be the same pitcher he was 25.

What is worrisome is the fact that the Rangers’ ace pitcher is an aged veteran that may be past his prime. That’s definitely a cause for concern, but the fact is that Hamels is a veteran and a leader for the club, which is much-needed in Arlington. However, Hamels seems to still have gas left in his tank. It’s also certainly worrisome about the fact that he finished this season with a 4.20 ERA which is his highest since 2009.

Last season, Hamels did miss some time with an injury. Perhaps that’s another thing to be concerned about. Now that he’s aging more and more, he’s becoming injury prone? In Hamels’ case, it’s nothing to worry about as injuries are part of the game and they happen.

The Rangers didn’t trade Hamels during the season. There haven’t been talks of them trading him this off-season. That being said we can expect Hamels to report to Spring Training in good shape and good health.