Braves add Cole Hamels to 2020 starting rotation

Veteran left-handed starting pitcher Cole Hamels signs one-year deal with the Braves

For eleven seasons, Cole Hamels was a thorn in the Atlanta Braves’ side. He was part of many good Philadelphia Phillies teams that wrestled the National League East away from the Braves in the late-2000s.

And now, five years after leaving the Phillies, Hamels will return to the National League East with the Braves, who signed the free agent left-hander to a one-year, $18-million contract on Wednesday.

The Braves wanted a veteran pitcher to replace Dallas Keuchel, who left as a free agent and was not going to return.

Last season with the Cubs, Hamels was 7-7 with a 3.81 ERA in 27 starts. He allowed 141 hits in 141.2 innings with 56 walks and 143 strikeouts. In his one-plus season in Chicago, Hamels was 11-10 in 39 starts with a 3.30 ERA and 217 strikeouts in 218 innings.

Hamels will now join Mike Soroka, Max Fried, Mike Foltynewicz and possibly Sean Newcomb in the Atlanta rotation. The Braves have said they will give Newcomb a chance to move back into the starting rotation after he pitched mainly in the bullpen last season.

Hamels was 6-3 with a 2.98 ERA in 17 games through June last season before injuring his oblique. He missed all of July and then returned to make 10 starts in August and September. He went 1-4 and had a 5.79 ERA in the last two months of the season.

Will this be the only addition to the Atlanta starting rotation? Well, with this investment, the Braves’ projected payroll is somewhere near the $133-million range. With the team still needing a cleanup hitter, it might be difficult to add another starting pitcher that makes a significant salary.

So, that might kill the chance to add Madison Bumgarner, who has been a favorite for many Braves fans. Although Ken Rosenthal reported Wednesday that his sources did not rule the Braves out in the Bumgarner sweepstakes.

It might depend on if Bumgarner can get close to what Zack Wheeler got from the Phillies on Wednesday when he signed a five-year, $118 million dollar deal. Bumgarner and Wheeler were considered the best of the second-tier free agent starting pitchers behind Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg.

The Braves could attempt to trade Foltynewicz in a deal for a better starting pitcher, which would allow his projected $7.5 million salary to add some financial flexibility. Or they might bring in another veteran on a lower salary, like they did two years ago with Anibal Sanchez.

However, if Bumgarner, who would like to pitch near his North Carolina home, would accept a three-year contract, the Braves might still have a chance to add the 30-year-old to the rotation.

For now, Hamels, who turns 36 two days after Christmas, will be penciled in as the top veteran. He could be especially helpful to Atlanta’s young starters, particularly Fried, who has been compared to Hamels over the last few seasons.

Reports surfaced a month ago that Hamels was willing to accept a shorter deal to pitch with a contender. Some believed he would return to Philadelphia, but the Phillies instead wanted a longer-term contract with Wheeler.

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