The Los Angeles Dodgers signed veteran southpaw Cole Hamels during the first week of August to give them needed depth in their starting rotation, but less than two weeks after he joined the organization, the team placed him on the 60-day injured list.
The 37-year-old was working to build up his arm strength and was expected to be on the active roster by Sept. 2, but sustained a shoulder injury. On Aug. 7, Hamels was scheduled to throw a two-inning simulated game but he only ended up going one inning.
After his short outing, manager Dave Roberts said the four-time All-Star was fine and it was because the team had simply seen him throw enough.
Although the signing didn’t work out for the Dodgers, they believed Hamels was healthy when they signed him.
“He was in Arizona, going through his progression, and I can’t speak specifically to when it happened, but whether in a ‘pen or throwing to hitters, it just didn’t respond well, unfortunately,” Roberts said.
“All the stuff that we had leading up to us courting him, watching other teams court him, our scouts and everyone felt really good about it. Obviously it’s an easy bet on the player, the person, what he’s done and everything we saw, it was good. Really good.
“I think right now where we’re at, we’re sad for Cole. He did everything he could to put himself in position to get back on a Major League team and pitch Major League innings. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”
Hamels had previous shoulder trouble with the Atlanta Braves last season that limited him to only one start.
Over parts of 15 MLB seasons, Hamels has pitched to a 163-122 record with a 3.43 ERA, 3.68 FIP and 1.18 WHIP in 2,698 innings (423 games, 422 starts).
In his last full season with the Chicago Cubs in 2019, Hamels went 7-7 with a 3.81 ERA, 4.09 FIP and 1.40 WHIP across 27 starts.
Kershaw progressing
After being shut down because of lingering elbow soreness, Clayton Kershaw resumed a throwing program over the past week and advanced to throwing bullpen sessions.
The first was only fastballs, but Kershaw then added offspeed pitches while getting off the mound and has continued playing catch since then.
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