Chicago Cubs: 3 takeaways from Cole Hamels deal

The Chicago Cubs have picked up Cole Hamels’ option for 2019. So what does it mean?

Just prior to the 2018 Major League Baseball trade deadline, the Chicago Cubs made what turned out to be a sneaky good move. They acquired Cole Hamels from the Texas Rangers in exchange for a couple of low-to-mid level prospects.

At the time, no one knew what to expect out of Hamels, although the left-hander was once one of the most dominant pitchers in the game. However, he had not been that pitcher for a few years and had struggled somewhat last season with the Rangers.

In the end, however, it appeared all he needed was a change of scenery and to find himself in the midst of a playoff race to get his competitive juices flowing once again. Hamels responded to the challenge and pitched really well for the Cubs down the stretch.

In 12 games with the Cubs, he finished 4-3 with 2.36 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Beyond the stats, he also proved to an extremely reliable starter who could be counted on to deliver a sound performance, especially following losses. He also limited the impact of losing Yu Darvish for virtually the entire year and took some of the load off of Jon Lester in the second half of the season.

Therefore, it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise when on Friday, the Cubs made the decision to exercise their option to bring Hamels back for the 2019 season at a price of $20 million. In a corresponding move, they traded pitcher Drew Smyly to the Texas Rangers and in the process, freed up $7 million. Beyond the obvious, what are some of the other takeaways of this deal? We examine three of them below.