San Diego Padres fans react to team agreeing to deal with 4-time All-Star pitcher Cole Hamels: "Rooting for Cole" "He’s coming home"

The San Diego Padres agreed to a minor-league contract with free-agent pitcher Cole Hamels on Thursday. Terms have not been disclosed, but it is believed the San Diego native will receive an invite to the big-league camp at Padres Spring Training Camp in Peoria, Ariz.

Cole Hamels, 39, is a four-time All-Star and was one of the game's top pitchers for over a decade with the Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers. However, he has not pitched at the major-league level since one game with the Atlanta Braves in 2020 due to shoulder and triceps injuries. His last victory came with the Chicago Cubs in 2019.

The San Diego Padres are still seeking depth in their starting rotation after Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and the recently-signed Michael Wacha. Nick Martinez and Seth Lugo are currently penciled in for the de facto fifth and sixth spots in the rotation, but both are more suited to relief work.

But could Cole Hamels be the answer? No one knows. Yet, a minor-league deal is a high reward/low risk proposition.

This is likely to be Cole Hamels' last shot at a continued major-league existence. With the San Diego Padres, he brings his it all back to where he started -- literally. Hamels was born in San Diego.

There were also a few jabs at the Padres for passing on Hamels in the 2002 MLB June Amateur Draft. San Diego chose shortstop Khalil Greene with the 13th pick in the first round, while the Philadelphia Phillies snagged Hamels four selections later.

While Greene was the National League Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2004, his time in San Diego lasted just six seasons. By 2009, at the age of 29, he was out of baseball.

With Greene's time with the Padres coming to an end in 2008, Hamels was in fine form with the Phillies. He led the team to the World Series title that season, earning the National League Championship Series and World Series MVP awards along the way.

While Hamels is possibly finally going to be wearing San Diego brown, is it too late for him to have any positive impact on his hometown team?

Of course, the Padres signing Hamels may just be a way of showing that AJ Preller just can't help himself when it comes to attempting to acquire, well... everyone?

Pitching for the San Diego Padres would be a fitting farewell for Cole Hamels

Starting pitcher Cole Hamels #32 of the Atlanta Braves throws to a Baltimore Orioles batter

A great career deserves a proper farewell -- at least a better one than throwing 3-1/3 innings in a single game with the Braves. If Cole Hamels can make the San Diego Padres roster and help them win at least a few games, it's a far better goodbye to the game than his previous exit in 2020.