Rangers get Hamels from Phillies for 2015 and beyond

According to ESPN, one of the scouts watching Saturday’s no-hitter said there is no doubt that Hamels is still one of the best starters in baseball, and that “he’s a difference-maker for somebody”. Hamels no-hit the Cubs at Wrigley Field on July 25.

But Burrell offered up some serious sentiments, too. When I step in between those lines, it’s “game on’ like I’ve done in the past and like I’ll continue to do every fifth day that I possibly can”.

After standing pat at the 2014 trade deadline, watching the rest of the league partake in one of baseball’s busiest weeks, the Phillies made up for things this year.

Harrison has spent his entire eight-year major league career with the Rangers after coming over from at Atlanta in the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007.

Along with Harrison, the Phillies got Double-A catcher Jorge Alfaro, outfielder Nick Williams and right-hander Jake Thompson – three of the Rangers’ top prospects – and Triple-A right-handers Jerad Eickhoff and Alec Asher.

Williams is an outfielder, Alfaro a catcher, the others pitchers. The Rangers will receive $9.5 million ” $7 million in 2016 and $2.5 million in 2018 ” to offset part of the contract for Hamels, who is due $22.5 million per season through 2018 with a club option for 2019. “We were looking for depth and quality, and we got both”.

“What we get in this return is still unknown”, Amaro said Friday after announcing the trade. This is one of the ways we can use our economic muscle to buy talent. “We went through so many good times here in Texas“.

Don’t look now, but the Rangers are on a little bit of a roll as they won two games in a row at home for the first time all month. “The reality of it is there is going to be a lot of players out there on the free agent market”. “Obviously good things do end at times and you have to move on”.

“I know everybody, especially fans, have been frustrated”, Revere said. The value of the prospect has increased dramatically.

“I have no idea, but just sitting out there, thinking about it, (stunk)”, Diekman said.

“When you’re in the hunt, what you want is general managers on your team to be somewhat aggressive”, injured third baseman David Wright said as news of the Cespedes trade was breaking.

Eagerly chasing offence as the clock ticked down on Friday’s trade deadline, the Mets landed the big right-handed bat they desperately needed by acquiring Cespedes from Detroit for two minor league pitchers. Could we have gotten better deals?

“It’s been one of the most joyous experiences that not only myself but my family has been able to be a part of”, Hamels said.

Following a checkup from the team’s medical staff, the Phillies placed Harrison on the 15-day disabled list with lower back inflammation, further proof he was included in the deal to help the Rangers rid themselves of his contract. “He had a limited no-trade clause”. But both made another appearance after the no-hitter before being dealt. He’s hitting. 279 over 6-plus seasons, majority with Arizona.

“You don’t want to say no to anybody and you don’t want to let a city down or an organization down but you want to do what’s best not just for my baseball career, but for my family”, Hamels said. He has a brother-in-law and sister-in-law in the Dallas area as well as a former minor-league roommate that he’s still close friends with.

With Philadelphia mired in a miserable season and its future potentially bleak, Hamels prepared himself for a trade that involved eight players and was officially completed Friday. The Rangers are seven games behind AL West-leading Houston but three out of the final wild-card spot. “But if you’re able to play long enough, there’s always a second chance”.

Lefty Matt Harrison and five prospects are going to Philadelphia. But that might have been more of those warm, nostalgic thoughts triggering in his brain Friday, the day everyone finally said goodbye. These are not easy.

Cole Hamels explains in a farewell Philadelphia news conference why he’s happy to go to Texas, saying he thinks the Rangers are close to being ready to compete for a playoff spot. “We got a very good package of players that I think will help propel this organization forward in the future”.