The Houston Astros Should Pursue Cole Hamels
By Yoni Pollak
The Houston Astros are 18-9. They have won 10 of their last 12, though they are on a small two-game losing streak heading into tonight’s game against the Texas Rangers. Nonetheless, they are good, still atop the American League.
I think these aren’t your older brother’s Astros. Whether you think they are for real or not is your decision, but I think this team is pretty good. They have a combination of good power hitters, speed, good defense, and a damn good bullpen.
They also have two very good pitchers in Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh. While maybe not household names yet, these two have anchored the staff this year just as they did last season.
The problem isn’t with those two, but it’s with the rest of the rotation.
Scott Feldman is a veteran pitcher usually good enough to hurl a quality start almost every time on the mound. However, just like last night, he’s also prone to a few blow-ups. Last night was the second time this season he’s allowed over six runs in a game. The other four starts were all quality starts, three of the four resulting in wins for the Astros (the other a 2-0 loss against the Indians).
Feldman was signed to a 3-year, $30 million deal last offseason and was expected to be the “ace” of the staff. With surprises from Keuchel and McHugh last season, Feldman dropped to the #3 spot. In reality however, I believe Feldman is really no more than a quality #4 pitcher in a playoff contender’s rotation.
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After Feldman we have Roberto Hernandez. The innings-eater is basically just that, an innings eater. He sports a 4.25 ERA on the year with three quality starts. He’s gotten through six innings in four of his five starts and has yet to be totally knocked around once this season. As a #5 pitcher you could do much worse but the issue is that he’s currently the #4.
The Astros don’t really have a set #5 pitcher in their rotation at this time. Asher Wojciechowski hasn’t been able to replicate his spring training success and the Astros are still waiting for a healthy Brett Oberholtzer to come into the rotation. Sam Deduno did a solid job in a four inning spot-start but they need a more formidable #5 starter.
That’s where Cole Hamels comes into play. The veteran Phillies pitcher has struggled early this season with a 4.14 ERA after six starts. The ace is owed around $90 million over the next four seasons with a $20 million club option for 2019, a reasonable contract for a 31-year old ace pitcher.
Hamels was a hot name during the offseason with the Boston Red Sox always deemed the favorite for his services. However, the Red Sox never appeared willing to deal stud prospect Mookie Betts, leaving Hamels to be a Phillie for now.
Would the Astros be willing to trade some of their premiere Minor League talent for a 31-year old ace? Well, GM Jeff Luhnow hinted to the Houston Chronicle that they could certainly use some help in the rotation.
"“We probably will explore rotation adds that makes sense for our team, because we’ve had a lot of rotating doors so far in the fifth spot. There are scenarios where we would continue to invest in this team as the year goes on in order to maximize our chances of not just getting to the playoffs, but being better in the playoffs.”"
To me, Cole Hamels would be the perfect fit for the Astros rotation this season and they should be working on a trade sooner rather than waiting until the deadline.
The Astros could wait until the offseason and try and convince the likes of David Price, Jordan Zimmerman, Johnny Cueto, or other pitchers to join the staff. Those negotiations usually take two to tango and would cost the Astros a lot of money for a long period of time, though it wouldn’t cost them any prospects. Hamels, on the other hand, only has four years remaining with a reasonable contract for an ace these days but would cost them prospects.
Inserting Hamels into the starting rotation would give the Astros a formidable 1-2-3 of Hamels, Keuchel, and McHugh. Sliding Feldman and Hernandez back into a #4 and #5 spot would be a nice change of pace for a franchise that likely would have had those two veterans towards the top of their rotation just a few seasons ago.
Hamels does have a no-trade clause and it’s believed the Astros are one of the teams on that list. Would he waive his no-trade to join a potential contender for years to come in Houston? I think so.
The other obstacle is the price it would cost to acquire a guy like Hamels. We know Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. wants the world for Hamels and who can blame him. However, we all know he’s only going to get a few continents for the longtime Phillies ace.
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Astros fans have deemed both Carlos Correa and Mark Appel as untouchable and I’m sure Jeff Luhnow has too. That leaves guys like Brett Phillips, Lance McCullers Jr., Vincent Velasquez, and Domingo Santana as the Astros top prospects that they may be willing to move.
How many of the Astros top 5/10 prospects would it require to land Hamels? I’m not sure. I suspect the Phillies would want at least two of them, along with a few other top 15 guys.
To me, at that price, it’s worth it. This team needs an ace badly and getting one sooner rather than later would help this ballclub.
The Astros have built up a strong farm system to make moves like these and I believe the time has come to make a trade.
Let’s do it, Jeff!
Next: Astros Minor League Players Of The Month