Cole Hamels Among Stars Traded at MLB Deadline
31 Jul, 2015
The Mets finally landed the bat they were looking for in Yoenis Cespedes just ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, and Cole Hamels confirmed he blocked a trade to Houston before Philadelphia dealt its ace to Texas.
Sixteen trades were made Friday ahead of the annual deadline for deals without waivers, but San Diego was among the buyers, not the sellers, to the surprise of some.
Hamels was the only top starting pitcher dealt following earlier trades that sent Scott Kazmir to Houston, Johnny Cueto to Kansas City and David Price to Toronto. The Blue Jays scheduled a blowout news conference at Rogers Centre to introduce Price, but instead the left-hander was sidetracked by a blowout to one of the tires on his gray sports car
The 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner, traded by Detroit on Thursday, tweeted just after 10 a.m. saying he’d blown a tire. About an hour later, he posted again to say he couldn’t find anyone to fit a new tire on his car.
Cespedes, eligible for free agency after the season, hit .293 with 18 home runs and 61 RBIs in 102 games for the Tigers. Seeking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006, the Mets have a talented starting rotation but rank last in the majors in runs and batting average, and 29th in on-base percentage and slugging.
Texas completed its deal to acquire Hamels and left-handed reliever Jake Diekman for left-hander Matt Harrison and five prospects. 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.
Philadelphia 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.
Toronto acquired right-hander Mark Lowe from Seattle and outfielder Ben Revere from Philadelphia, following up on its deals for All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, reliever LaTroy Hawkins and Price.
AP
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