Reports: Cole Hamels traded to the Chicago Cubs, Pending Physical

Veteran starting pitcher Cole Hamels has been traded from the Texas Rangers to the Chicago Cubs. The return package to Texas has not yet been disclosed.

The Texas Rangers have traded starting pitcher Cole Hamels to the Chicago Cubs. This news per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Chicago’s end of the bargain has not yet been specified; however, reports indicate multiple low minor league prospects will be involved.

The deal gained traction rapidly as the rumor had just come to light Thursday morning. It took an afternoon and part of evening for the deal to be finalized.

Hamels has a  5-9 record with a 4.72 ERA over 20 starts in 2018. If the season were to end today, it would be the lowest ERA of his 13-year career. On the positive side, the 34-year-old left-hander has had tremendous success on the road this season compared to at home. Hamels’ road numbers consist of a 4-2 record and an impressive 2.92 ERA. He’s also allowed just seven home runs on the road compared to 16 at home in the same number of starts (10). It can only be assumed that the Cubs favored his road statistics in completing this trade.

For what it’s worth, Hamels has a career 1.76 ERA in six starts at Wrigley Field. Perhaps the most notable highlight of his career came at Wrigley when he no-hit the Chicago Cubs back in 2015. Beyond poor 2018 statistics from Cole Hamels, there is certainly valid reasoning for the Cubs to have made the acquisition.

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From the Texas Rangers perspective, they found a way to get rid of Hamels, which is a win in itself. Hamels gave the Rangers a lot over 3+ years, though, his pending free agency and Texas’ intentions to rebuild practically left him out to dry. His recent struggles definitely hurt the Rangers’ chances at an ideal return, but the priority was to move him and that’s what they were able to accomplish.

Though unknown to this point, the expected set of low-level minor leaguers plays right into the Rangers’ rebuild plans. They are not expected to contend next season and 2020 contention is iffy at this point. Point being, the Texas Rangers aren’t going anywhere fast and they will therefore have plenty of time to develop any young prospects in which they acquire.