After all these months of speculation on the trading of Cole Hamels, the Philadelphia Phillies finally pulled the trigger. The Texas Rangers were not exactly the team the baseball world had in mind for receiving the star left-hander, but what Philly got back in return is what they have been asking for. Along with Cole Hamels, the Rangers will receive reliever Jake Diekman in return for an abundance of prospects and veteran starter Matt Harrison to the Phils.
The big catch by Texas wasn’t to win it all this year (maybe to get into the playoffs), but to win it all in 2016. With Yu Darvish out for the season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Cole Hamels will take the helm as the #1 guy in the rotation. The biggest positive however, of this acquisition is that Hamels is still under contract for 3 more seasons through 2018, meaning that Texas now has two aces locked up (Yu Darvish under contract through 2017). As the Rangers are currently in position for the second wild card spot, the playoffs may be a good mindset, but the World Series is for 2016.
Even with a healthy offensive lineup, including Jurickson Profar coming back, and a one of the best rotations in the American League, the Rangers still will have some holes that may be obstacles to climb over to get to the Fall Classic. The projected rotation for Texas in 2016 will look like this: 1 Darvish, 2 Hamels, 3 Gallardo (has been a 15-game winner in past, when not pressurized to be the ace), 4 Colby Lewis (solidified veteran), 5 Nick Martinez (has not disappointed as a top prospect). That rotation can easily become top 3 in the entire league, especially with a powerful lineup giving them run support. 2015 has been a whole lot healthier for the offense then 2014, as the stars have stayed healthy in Adrian Beltre (83 hits in 81 games), Shin-Soo Choo (has appeared in 89 games), and Elvis Andrus (magical glove has played in 98 appearances). Texas has also received a great surprise in Prince Fielder playing like an MVP and the acquisition of Josh Hamilton paying off (slugging .419 and happy to be back in Texas). During the offseason, the Rangers need to sign a few relievers and either Matt Wieters or Alex Avila to start behind the plate; they are that close to traveling back to the Fall Classic.
As for the Phillies, they now have arguably the best collection of prospects behind the Chicago Cubs in the entire league. The young studs acquired in the trade were Jorge Alfaro (top catching prospect, #67 overall, by the way the Phillies were trying to pull Blake Swihart away from the Sox for Hamels, so they got a top catching prospect anyway), 5-tool minor leaguer outfielder Nick Williams (#98), Jake Thompson (#43 prospect, right-handed starter), and two more minor league right handed starters. Currently the Phillies have 6 prospects in the top 100, not including guys like Maikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez, who were in also ranked highly before becoming full time major league starters. The Phillies are in the process of a complete rebuild, as they have now traded away 3 big contracts and stars in Jonathan Paplebon, Cole Hamels and Jimmy Rollins, in return for prospects. Meanwhile, their original prospects have been brought up and down throughout the season to be tested out. Philly may still have Ryan Howard and Chase Utley and their roster, but besides that the Phillies have one of the biggest no name rosters in years, however, it has a huge upside. With contracts off the books, the manager gone, and an abundance of young talent, the Phillies can now develop their guys, hire the right manager, and spend some money in free agency in order to go for it all either in 2017 or 2018. All in all it may be a rough couple a years ahead, but after the rebuild, multiple championships could be won for Philly fans.
