Dodgers Will Be in Attendance When Free Agent Pitcher Cole Hamels Throws a Showcase

The Dodgers should probably be in on every available arm on the market right now. With so many guys down in their starting rotation, it’s only a matter of time before they make some sort of move. Whether or not that’s via trade is anyone’s guess at the moment. 

But there is at least one free agent arm that the Dodgers are interested in, to some extent. The OC Register’s JP Hoornstra reported yesterday that Los Angeles would be one of the teams attending Cole Hamels’ showcase later this month. 

Hamels is now 37-years-old and was last with the Braves after signing an $18 million deal in December of 2019. He pitched in just 1 game and was charged with 3 earned runs with Atlanta. Shoulder issues kept him out of games for most of the shortened season, but the Dodgers might need him. 

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The last time Hamels pitched a productive season was in 2019 when he made 27 starts for the Cubs. He ate up 141 innings and keep his ERA down to 3.81 with a decent strikeout rate. That’s exactly the sort of arm the Dodgers could use to get by this season.

He’s not the Cy Young caliber arm that he was in his twenties, but Hamels could make some much-needed starts for Los Angeles. His presence at the end of the rotation also allows for some big arms to remain in the Dodgers bullpen. 

Is he going to be a playoff starter? Probably not. But signing Hamels likely wouldn’t cost a lot of money and it would cost them zero prospects like a trade would. If he looks healthy, he’s very much worth signing. 

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