Red Sox Could Pursue Four-Time All-Star Attempting MLB Comeback To Bolster Rotation
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Could the Boston Red Sox continue their trend of attempting to turn back the clock with former All-Stars?
Boston already added aging veterans Chris Martin, Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner and Corey Kluber this offseason. Another could be on the way.
"Cole Hamels threw for teams today in Arlington, Texas, and was said to look 'insanely good,' " the New York Post's Jon Heyman tweeted Friday. "Predicts he will receive interest off this session. 88-91 mph."
Heyman also noted that Hamels appeared to be drawing serious interest from teams, though he did not note which teams attended his throwing session.
Hamels took the last two seasons off and only appeared in one game during the shortened 2020 season.
The 39-year-old's last true season was in 2019, when he posted a 7-7 record with a 3.81 ERA, 143-to-56 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .260 batting average against and 116 ERA+ in 141 2/3 innings across 27 starts for the Chicago Cubs.
Hamels was an above-average starter in his last full season, but that was four seasons ago.
The Red Sox currently have Kluber, Chris Sale, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and James Paxton as rotation candidates with Kutter Crawford and Josh Winckowski as potential depth options.
While Boston's rotation is far from loaded, Hamels does not have a clear place on the roster. He'd be just another guy in a group full of projected back-end-caliber starters.
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