Jon Heyman shares news and notes from around the Major League Baseball:
Cole Hamels with him Decided to spend time together Make a comeback plan and try things out next spring instead of rushing things. He stopped his comeback a year ago when he experienced a setback after signing the Dodgers. Hamels, 38, has thrown only 3¹ / ₃ innings since 2019, but is the winner of his career 163 games.
Not surprisingly, Phillies seeks Bullpen's help as he tries to solve the Bugaboo problem (4.34 Pen ERA, 24th in MLB). Jeurys Familia is typical. The scout has consistently been to Philadelphia for nearly a decade and said, "I can't pitch at all." At least Dave Dombrowski resisted the previous proposal to buy his earlier, closer (Boston) Craig Kimbrel, who is fighting the Dodgers.
Team is A's starter Frankie Montas I started to inquire about. But he needs to bring transportation. Center-fielder Ramon Laureano, Utilityman Chad Pinder, shortstop Elvis Andrus, and veteran batter Jed Lowrie, as well as talented catcher Sean Murphy have a chance to get out. Paul Blackburn (2.97 ERA) has had a great year, but he has three more years of control, so he could stay.
In addition to top starters Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle, the Reds have new trade chips. Infielder Brandon Drury is a former Journeyman who has celebrated his all-star year.
Pirates rookie Oneil Cruz (named after Paul O'Neill) is said by scouts to have the best tools on this side of Shohei Ohtani. Rival GM called it a "crazy tool." His arms, speed and power are all elite, and even at 6'7 he has a hand to play as a shortstop, they say. His first throw was 96.7 mph, the best infielder of the year, surpassing Bobby Witt Jr.'s 94.4 (Witt's dad was a very good MLB pitcher).
