Cole Hamels last pitched a real season all the way back in 2019 with the Chicago Cubs. He had thereafter signed with the Braves for the 2020 season, but then the pandemic happened, injuries happened, and he wound up throwing just 3.1 innings the entire season. Since then, nothing but comeback attempts. He has not appeared in a professional game, at any level.
That said, Hamels is still only 39, so it wouldn’t be THAT crazy for him to have depth value to a big league organization. So he threw for teams, and now he’s found a taker on a minor league deal:
Hamels joins a San Diego Padres club with heavy playoff aspirations, but not necessarily a ton of starting pitching depth. They did just add Michael Wacha on a big league deal. But even considering that, if they were to suffer an injury or two at the front of their rotation, the Padres could really be in a desperate spot.
That’s ultimately what it might take for Cole Hamels to make it back to the big leagues, but given how well he performed for the Cubs in 2018 and 2019, and given what a generally positive presence he is, I’ll be rooting for a comeback.