Cubs: Team makes right call in letting Cole Hamels walk

The Chicago Cubs opted not to offer a qualifying offer to Cole Hamels. It was the right move.

Although the World Series just ended less than a week ago, teams across Major League Baseball are already making moves to gear up for the 2020 season.

For some teams like the Chicago Cubs, those moves may be more along the lines of addition by subtraction.

According to Jesse Rogers of ESPN, the Cubs will not be extending a qualifying offer to veteran starting pitcher Cole Hamels.

The lefty joined the Cubs just before the 2018 trade deadline in a swap with the Texas Rangers.

This past season was truly a tale of two halves for the southpaw.

Though he posted a respectable 6-3 record with a 2.98 ERA in the first half, the second half was nothing short of disappointing.

In his final 10 starts, Hamels went 1-4 with a 5.79 ERA. His slash line went from .234/.302./.357 to an unsuccessful .315/.397/.506.

While those numbers may not sound terrible for a back end starter on a team like the Marlins or Mariners, that’s far from acceptable for a team searching another World Series championship before their window of opportunity closes.

Hamels was eligible to receive a qualifying offer for the 2020 season. If he were to accept the offer, he would be paid $17.8 million for the upcoming campaign.

That number is found by calculating the average of the top 125 salaries across baseball for 2020.

As reported Monday, Hamels will not be offered a qualifying offer by the team and will instead become an unrestricted free agent when the deadline passes to extend an offer.

Quite frankly, it’s a no-brainer for the Cubs. If he were to receive a QO, he’d be silly not to accept it. He would receive $17.8 million to pitch on a potential World Series contender next year.

When Hamels does hit free agency, it’s all but guaranteed that he won’t reach anything close to $17.8 million for a salary next year. Even in a market that places the utmost value on starting pitching, there isn’t a team in baseball who would pay nearly $18 million  for a 36-year-old starter with an ERA pushing 4.00 in 2019.

Although the Cubs will certainly need to spend money in order to contend next year, they would be greatly harming their chances of making a major splash or improving if they were to offer Hamels a QO.

Instead, the team is making the right decision in letting Hamels walk. The relationship between Hamels and the Cubs has run its course, and it’s time to move on and sign a younger starter for 2020 and potentially beyond.