Expect Hamels to bump Chatwood or Montgomery
Montgomery’s struggles in loss to Cardinals make it clear Hamels matters
ST. LOUIS — The Cubs are making Cole Hamels — already a welcome addition — feel downright needed as he travels to St. Louis to join the team Saturday.
Hamels, who was acquired from the Rangers in a four-player deal that became official Friday morning, is expected to join a rotation that has struggled much of the season beyond ace Jon Lester. He’s likely to bump either Tyler Chatwood or Mike Montgomery from the starting five.
The Cubs were expected to announce that decision in the next day or two.
Meanwhile, Chatwood walked six more batters Thursday and failed to pitch out of the fifth inning. And Montgomery followed that up Friday with a five-inning start that included five runs and 12 hits in a 5-2 loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Whether Hamels (5-9, 4.72 ERA for the Rangers) is the best answer, the question has never been more urgent as the Cubs try to cling to a division lead while desperately seeking more innings from their rotation. The bullpen has been taxed much of the year.
“We know what we’ve been doing as a rotation, and it’s just another positive to add a guy like this and the innings he’s going to be piling up for us,” said starter Kyle Hendricks. “We know what he can do and what he can definitely bring to this ballclub. I think it’s going to be a big energy boost.”
Hamels, 34, is a four-time All-Star who has made 16 postseason starts, including two in the 2008 World Series that earned him MVP honors for the series. He has a 2.94 ERA in eight starts this season against five teams currently in playoff position.
He’s 3-1 with a 1.76 ERA in six career starts at Wrigley Field, including a no-hitter in his last start there, in 2015, to hand Jake Arrieta his only loss in the final 19 starts of a Cy Young season.
But Hamels has recently struggled with command and hard contact, particularly over his last five starts (10.23 ERA).
“We were just looking beyond his recent struggles and looking at the pitcher overall and the man overall that he is,” team president Theo Epstein said. “He’s a proven, excellent starter in this league for a long time, has been through the wars, the type of guy who can really get rejuvenated coming from the situation he’s in now into a pennant race, into this clubhouse and into Wrigley Field.”
One longtime scout who watched Hamels’ last start for the Rangers this week said his command was shaky, but his velocity was impressive.
“Sometimes you have to take a little bit of an educated gamble on a guy and look past recent performance,” Epstein said. “But his stuff is still there, his velocity is same as it’s been for years, and actually has been trending up during the course of the season. It’s been sort of a command and execution issue.”
Former Rangers teammates Yu Darvish and Jesse Chavez — the latter acquired from the Rangers last week — also raved about what they’ve seen from Hamels, even this season. Both expect the fresh start to invigorate the lefty.
“The way I think of him, the bigger the game is the better he’ll perform,” Darvish said through an interpreter. “So hopefully when he joins here, he’ll outperform everybody.”
Epstein said starting pitching had been a priority since the trading period began, in part because of how much more difficult it is to acquire rotation help after the deadline.
“And we’re one injury away from being in a really tough spot,” said Epstein, who noted the Cubs are not necessarily done dealing.
In exchange for Hamels, the Cubs sent right-hander Eddie Butler and Class A pitcher Rollie Lacy to the Rangers, along with a player to be named later. They’ll get significant salary relief on the $14 million remaining on Hamels’ contract, which includes a $6 million buyout on next year’s $20 million club option.
The Rangers pick up all but $5 million of the total guaranteed money still owed to Hamels on the deal.
“He’s pitched in a lot of big games, and he’s going to hopefully pitch in a lot more big games for us,” said first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who homered Friday. “It’s just another confidence booster for us.”