Phillies: Evaluating the return for Cole Hamels three years later
By John Town
The lost pieces
The Phillies received six players in exchange for Hamels and Jake Diekman. Of those six, only three remain in the organization. The other three gave the team little to literally nothing in their time here.
Matt Harrison was on the Phillies roster through the 2016 season but never pitched for them. He and his $13.2 million salary were stashed on the 60-day disabled list. His career was cut short due to back issues, pitching just nine times from 2013 to 2015. Philadelphia bought him out after the 2016 season to protect their Rule 5 eligible prospects. They are still paying him $2 million this season.
Alec Asher was the least-touted prospect of the ones the Phillies received. His time as a Phillie was short-lived. In 12 starts here, he had a 5.88 ERA and 1.376. He had a 2.28 ERA in five starts at the end of 2016, but he was traded to Orioles for a player to be named later or cash after spring training last year. He was just designated for assignment by the Brewers.
Of three headliners in the deal, Jake Thompson turned out to be the dud. He became the team’s top-ranked pitching prospect upon arrival, but could never find enough command to become a successful major-leaguer. He walked 61 batters in 116.1 innings in the majors, posting a 4.87 ERA, 5.80 fielding-independent pitching, and 1.530 WHIP over three seasons. The team designated Thompson for assignment last week after acquiring Justin Bour. He was traded to the Brewers for cash or a player to be named later Tuesday.