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The Texas Rangers have acquired left-handed pitchers Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman from the Philadelphia Phillies for starting pitcher Matt Harrison and 5 minor leaguers: AAA pitchers Jerad Eickhoff and Alec Asher, AA outfielder Nick Williams, AA catcher Jorge Alfaro, and AA pitcher Jake Thompson. The deal is currently pending medical review.
Hamels was drafted by the Phillies with the 17th overall pick in the 2002 draft, and has played his entire 10-year career to this point with the Phillies.
The Rangers are currently in 3rd place in the American League West, 8 games behind the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels, and 4.5 games out of the second American League Wild Card spot. It does not appear as though they have a shot at the playoffs this season.
However, the Rangers want to put together a pitching staff that they can build around. Hamels’ last start was a no-hitter at Wrigley Field, and he is averaging 9.6 strikeouts per 9 innings with a 3.64 ERA. He has been particularly tough on left-handed batters, holding them to a .189 batting average.
The Rangers have spoiled the hopes of some contenders by snapping up Hamels, as the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays were both looking for pitching help at the trade deadline.
Hamels is under contract through the 2018 season with a club option for 2019.
Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com.
[…] plan seems to be to stock up on pitchers that are under team control for at least next year. They acquired Cole Hamels earlier in the week, and he is under contract through the 2018 […]