Today Was a Good Day To Be a Starting Pitcher (Hamels, Wheeler & Bundy)

While Monday was a good day to be a second baseman, today was a good day to be a starting pitcher.
A trio of starting pitchers have found new teams for 2020 and perhaps beyond.


After not being given a qualifying offer by the Chicago Cubs, Cole Hamels signed a one year, $18 million contract with the Atlanta Braves. Although the Braves have won back to back NL East titles, Hamels gives Atlanta's rotation a veteran presence. Hamels, who turns 36 later this month, went 7-7 with a 3.81 ERA in 27 starts for the Cubs in 2019. Although Hamels has 14 seasons under his belt, he did manage to strikeout 143 batters in 141 2/3 innings pitched. The longtime lefty enters 2020 with 2558 strikeouts and certainly has a chance to reach 3000 strikeouts which would punch his ticket to Cooperstown.


Meanwhile, New York Mets fans would probably like to punch Zack Wheeler about now. Wheeler has reportedly signed a 5-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies worth $118 million. In 2019, Wheeler struck out a career high 195 batters in 195 1/3 innings pitched while going 11-8 with a 3.96 ERA in 31 starts with the Mets. In five seasons with the Mets, Wheeler went 44-38 with a 3.77 ERA in 126 career starts. Wheeler missed both the 2015 and the 2016 seasons due to Tommy John surgery. Of course, the Mets won the NL pennant in 2015 and won the NL East in 2016. It is worth noting the Mets originally acquired Wheeler during the 2011 season from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Carlos Beltran. Wheeler came this close to being managed by the guy for whom he was traded. While Wheeler, 29, has stayed healthy and has been serviceable it's not clear to me that he warranted that kind of contract. If the Phillies view Wheeler as the middle of the rotation pitcher then that's realistic. But if they view as the ace of the staff then they are in a lot of trouble.


I do wonder what kind of expectations the Los Angeles Angels have for Dylan Bundy whom they've acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for four minor league pitchers. Bundy, who turned 27 last month, was the team's top draft pick in 2011 and reached the majors the following year at the age of 19. Like Wheeler, Bundy underwent Tommy John surgery but has been healthy the past several seasons. Unfortunately, Bundy's results have far more modest. In 30 starts with the O's in 2019, Bundy went 7-14 with a 4.79 ERA. In 2018, Bundy led the AL in losses (18) and home runs surrendered (41). Overall, in parts of five seasons with Baltimore, Bundy has gone 38-45 with a 4.67 ERA in 127 appearances of which 103 have been starts. Part of this can be attributed to being on a team that has lost 100 or more games in back to back seasons. But Bundy has underachieved. The silver lining is that his strikeout totals are good as he fanned 162 batters in 161 2/3 inning pitched. If the Angels land the likes of Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg, the pressure will be considerably lessened on Bundy. In which case there is a chance that Bundy could be the kind of pitcher with the Angels he never could be in Baltimore. Best case scenario is that a change of scenery does for him what it did for Jake Arrieta five years ago.