Royals Rumors: Jason Hammel Would Be Great Addition to Team

Royals rumors have been quiet ever since the Kansas City Royals traded closer Wade Davis to the Cubs for Jorge Soler. Now, however, the Royals have been linked with another former Cub, pitcher Jason Hammel.

Months ago, I put out a free agent wish list with guys I’d love to see wind up a member of the KC Royals. In that post, I said,

"Honestly, if I could have the Royals sign ANY starting pitcher off the market, it’d be Jason Hammel, formerly of the Chicago Cubs. Hammel was a great pitcher for the Cubs during their World Series season in 2016, but he was left off the postseason roster due to the fact that the Cubs simply didn’t need him."

Imagine how thrilled I am to have heard that the Kansas City Royals actually now have a shot at inking the former Cub to a contract. Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe made all of my wildest dreams come true, when he reported that the Royals could end up waiting to see if Hammel is available to them.

"Now they’re looking for a low-cost starting pitcher (they could wait out the Jason Hammel market), a reliever, and a utilityman."

Hammel would be a great sign for several reasons. First and foremost, he fits a role of need for the KC Royals, which is a starting pitcher. Not only that, but he’s a starting pitcher with solid experience and could give this team some valuable innings.

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In his 2016 campaign with Chicago, Hammel had a 3.83 ERA in 30 starts and 166.2 innings thrown. With 144 strikeouts and a 12-10 record, Hammel could instantly make this Royals rotation a hundred times better.

In that post I wrote, I predicted that Jason Hammel would be quite the hot commodity on the free agent market. He had a solid 2016 season, but it appears that teams actually aren’t biting on the soon-to-be 35-year old starter.

Should this be the case and the Royals can lock Hammel up on a one-year contract (or even two years if it’s affordable and that’s how they seal the deal), then I’ll be ecstatic. Hammel looked fantastic in 2016, though it is worth noting that the Cubs did not include him on their postseason roster. That was more the fact that they didn’t need him in the rotation more than anything else.

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It’s always nice to see some Royals rumors floating around, but when it pertains to the team actually acquiring someone good, that’s even better. The Royals wouldn’t have to give up a prospect or a player for Jason Hammel, they’d just have to offer him the best possible deal.

I would love for Kansas City to be the next home of Jason Hammel and hopefully we see the ball get rolling on this deal.

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