"It's not something you want to happen, especially when I have been feeling good all year. I understand the situation, where the team is at and what I want to do here. I want to play a good part in this, but if I'm not able to do that close to 100 percent, I don't want to jeopardize the team or the bullpen. So we'll play it out, be smart and miss a game." - Cole Hamels (MLB.com)
The surging Texas Rangers made a conservative decision to scratch their ace pitcher Cole Hamels for his scheduled Thursday start with a sore groin, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. The lefty felt some soreness during his Friday start in Seattle, but pitched through it, ultimately losing some effectiveness in dropping the contest.
Some experts questioned the Rangers acquistion of the prized pitcher from the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline. At the time, the Rangers seemed out of the pennant race, well below .500 and seemingly not coming together. The team is now 8-3 in their last 11 games, interestingly enough two of the three losses came in games that Hamels started (although the bullpen let him down in his first Rangers start). The team was seven games out of first place at the time of his acquisition. Now they are 4.5 games behind the American League West leading Houston Astros, and even closer than that to the Wild Card.
According to MLB.com, the Rangers do not expect him to miss any action beyond this one start, and are not considering a DL stint at this time.
Hamels is signed through 2018 with an option in 2019. His annual salary of between $20M and $25M per season is on par with other top notch pitchers, just slightly below the huge deals of mega free agents Jon Lester and Clayton Kershaw. Hamels would be a good value if he pitched 200 innings with an ERA around 3.00 for the heavy-hitting Rangers team. If injuries plague him, it could be a bust. Note that the Phillies are paying $20M - $30M of his salary over the next few seasons, according to reports.
Since his third year in the league, Hamels has accumulated 190 innings or more every season, proving a level of durability above average for a hurler in today's game.
The Rangers will make an announcement about a replacement starter close to Thursday's game against the Minnesota Twins and are expected to call up an arm from Triple-A.