I think it was probably right to pass on Hamels. That he's performing well beyond what anyone might have expected certainly changes the in-hindsight aspect of it, but I think it was mainly a bad fit for the reason everybody wanted him so badly: he's Cole Hamels, Phillies legend. It just would have been too much attention and disruption over acquiring, essentially, a new 5th starter. There are other pitchers they maybe should have gotten instead. But Klentak was clear that he didn't want to shop on the starting pitcher market, and if so he can probably live with missing the playoffs as a consequence of that.
Of course he could have had Harvey then too, but the price would have been to high. We're asking that question now because it's always cheaper to get someone in August. I don't think our three young pitchers have been demonstrably worse in the past three weeks. Their highs and lows were already no secret.
