This team keeps trying to recapture 2008 Phillies magic

Cole Hamels is the eighth member of the 2008 Phillies championship team to become a Dodger

If you told me without context that the Los Angeles Dodgers were trying to replicate the magic of the Philadelphia Phillies, I’d say you were crazy.

The Dodgers have seven World Series titles, the Phillies have two.

The Dodgers have 24 pennants, the Phillies have seven.

The Dodgers have 19 division titles, including every year since 2013, the Phillies have 11, and none since 2011.

The Dodgers even have two Wild Card berths, the Phillies have none.

In franchise history, and especially over the last decade, the Dodgers have been a master class in postseason consistency, and the Phillies need remedial tutoring.

But with the news earlier today that the Dodgers are signing former Phillies ace Cole Hamels, Dodgers fans dug up an interesting factoid.

Hamels is the eighth member of the 2008 Phillies championship team to become a Dodger.

Of these Phillies-turned-Dodgers, Hamels is the only one who hasn’t retired. Every other player on this list played their last game between 2015-2018. If the Dodgers can get back to the Fall Classic, Hamels could be the only one of this group to win a ring with both teams.

The Dodgers tried to acquire Hamels from the Phillies at the 2014 trade deadline

This signing of Hamels was not the Dodgers’ first attempt to get him on their team. Ahead of the 2014 trade deadline, NBC Sports reported that the Phillies were serving Hamels up on a silver platter for interested takers. Los Angeles was one of his prospective suitors, but apparently, Philadelphia wanted too much: then-top prospects Joc Pederson, Corey Seager, and Julio Urías.

At the time, Hamels was under contract through 2018, meaning he could have been part of the Dodgers’ 2018 postseason run, and brought his October dominance to their rotation.

Of course, without Pederson, Seager, and Urias, who knows if the Dodgers would’ve been in the 2018 postseason. Pederson made his debut in September 2014, and had a 25-homer season in 2018. That October, he contributed with two more home runs, two RBI, and six runs scored.

Seager made his debut in September 2015 and won NL Rookie of the Year in 2016. He missed most of the 2018 season due to injury. Over seven years in the majors so far, he’s hit .293/.362/.494 with a .856 OPS, 92 home runs, and 329 RBI. He’s already been an All-Star twice, won two Silver Sluggers, and has won both NLCS and World Series MVP. Last season, he was crucial to the Dodgers winning their first championship since 1988, hitting .328/.425/.746 with a 1.171 OPS, four doubles, eight home runs, and 20 RBI in 18 postseason games.

Urías made his debut in May 2016 at just 19 years old. His career has been plagued with injuries, and he only made three appearances for the Dodgers in the 2018 regular season. That October, he pitched in seven games, and only allowed two earned runs, one in the NLCS, and one in the World Series.

The Phillies did not end up dealing Hamels in 2014, and he finished the season with his second-best regular-season ERA of 2.46, his best in a Phillies uniform. In 30 starts, he struck out 198 batters over 204 2/3 innings, his fifth consecutive 200+ inning season. They traded him to the Texas Rangers the following season, instead.

What will Hamels’ impact be on the Dodgers?

Hamels is 37 years old now and only pitched in one game in 2020. He’s been injured, and he’s got more mileage on him. He’ll need time to ramp up, and even once he gets going, it’s unclear how effective he will even be. But 20 teams went to his showcase, and a fair few of them thought he was worth a shot.

It’s crazy to think about the implications of that would-be trade in 2014. Would the Phillies’ rebuilding efforts over the last almost-decade have actually paid off? Would the Dodgers have won the 2018 World Series, or even been as dominant over the last seven years without those top prospects who became so vital to their success?

We’ll never know what kind of impact Hamels would’ve had then. But we’re about to find out the impact he can have now.