The Dodgers have agreed to terms on a one-year, $1-million major league contract with free-agent pitcher Cole Hamels, a low-risk investment in a veteran left-hander who could provide rotation depth if Clayton Kershaw is slow to recover from a sore elbow.
The deal, which includes bonuses of $200,000 per start, was confirmed Wednesday by a person familiar with negotiations but not authorized to speak publicly about them. Hamels, according to the source, will report to the team’s spring training complex in Arizona to build up his arm strength before joining the Dodgers.
Hamels, 37, was limited by shoulder inflammation and fatigue to only one game for Atlanta in 2020 after signing a one-year, $18-million deal with the Braves. But the four-time All-Star began throwing earlier this year and impressed scouts during a July 16 workout in Frisco, Texas, where his fastball touched 90 mph.
The San Diego native has a 163-122 career record and 3.43 ERA in 15 big-league seasons, 13 of them with the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers. He went 7-7 with a 3.81 ERA in 27 starts for the Chicago Cubs in 2019, striking out 143 and walking 56 in 141 2/3 innings.
Hamels has a 7-6 record and 3.41 ERA in 17 career playoff games, 16 of them starts, and was named the most valuable player of the National League Championship Series and World Series during the Phillies’ 2008 run to the championship.
He went 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two NLCS starts against the Dodgers and 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two World Series starts against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The front of the Dodgers rotation appears formidable with Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer, who will make his Dodgers debut Wednesday night against the Houston Astros after last week’s trade from Washington, and Julio Urias. David Price is currently the No. 4 starter.
But Kershaw has been out since July 7 because of left-elbow inflammation, and he suffered a setback over the weekend when he was unable to throw a scheduled four-inning, 60-pitch simulated game.
Manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday that Kershaw is undergoing treatment and strength and conditioning exercises, but “I don’t know where he’s at in his throwing progression,” he said.
The defending World Series-champion Dodgers, who are 3½ games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants in the National League West, also lost starter Tony Gonsolin to an inflamed shoulder.
The right-hander was placed on the 10-day injured list after giving up two earned runs and walking five batters in 1 2/3 innings of last Friday night’s 6-5 loss at Arizona.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.