When a major trade is made in baseball, it takes years to evaluate who won the trade. It won't be clear who won the Cole Hamels to Texas Rangers mega-deal until near the end of this decade, though it's fair to suggest that if the Rangers had to decide whether they would re-do last July's trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, it wouldn't be a difficult decision for Jon Daniels and company.
Hamels, despite lasting just four innings and giving up five runs in a loss to the Minnesota Twins Sunday, is 9-2 with a 2.93 ERA through his first 17 starts. He's struck out 105 batters and has a 1.28 WHIP thus far. While advanced statistics such as FIP and xFIP suggest Hamels hasn't been as good as his traditional statistics may suggest, he's the ace for the team that's likely to enter the All-Star break with the best record in the American League. That makes him a near lock to be selected to his fourth All-Star team when the rosters are announced this evening.
In addition to Hamels, reliever Jake Diekman, who is making less than $1.5 million this season, seems to be pitching up to his potential. After posting a 2.58 ERA in 2013, Diekman struggled his next season and a half in Philadelphia, primary because of his inability to consistently locate his top-notch stuff. A change of scenery seems to have had a positive effect on him, as Diekman has posted a 2.81 ERA in 28 games while allowing just 19 hits.
The Phillies traded Hamels in the midst of his prime, making the success that he's having on a very good Rangers team less than surprising. Even Diekman's success isn't surprising. The Phillies were never going to fleece the Rangers in a trade that involved these two — Hamels specifically, though their initial success seems to suggest that the package of prospects the Phillies acquired in return will have to have quite impressive MLB careers to sway the long-term outlook on the trade in the Phillies' favor.
The nuggets
- Cameron Rupp's impressive first half has created an interesting dilemma for the Phillies at the catcher position moving forward. In my opinion, Rupp, 27, likely has a future as Jorge Alfaro's backup at catcher. Under that scenario, the Phillies would then move Andrew Knapp to another position. However, when Rupp is in the lineup, he's there because of his bat, not his glove. That makes me wonder whether the Phillies would consider him as an option at first base the next few seasons, especially considering that Tommy Joseph has drastically cooled off.
- Aaron Nola has 106 strikeouts in 2016, while Cole Hamels has 105.
- An American League scout told our Nick Mandarano that despite how hot Peter Bourjos has been recently, potential suitors are "still looking more at history than the recent performance." Value wise, this scout is dead-on, the Phillies will get next to nothing if they trade Bourjos. However, there's reason to think contenders would be interested in the 29-year-old. At worst, he's a great 25th man on a playoff roster because he's a tremendous fielder at all three outfield positions and can also be a pinch-runner. At best, he's both of those things with an ability to sometimes hit well enough to force his way into the lineup.
