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Morning Mound Visit: sabermetrics news - 12/5/19

Hamels to the Braves; how Wheeler complicates the Phillies’ road to contention; the Brewers’ plan

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MLB: Philadelphia Phillies-Fan Event Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

FanGraphs | Tony Wolfe: The Braves added to their rotation by signing Cole Hamels to a one-year deal, a smart move considering Hamels has never had below 1.7 fWAR in a full season, and ZiPS projections point him being worth closer to 3.

The Ringer | Michael Baumann: There are still a lot of question marks surrounding Zack Wheeler’s contract with the Phillies. They signed a pitcher who has never been an ace to near-ace-level money, hoping they can essentially mold him in a way they never have before with previous starters. Is that smart, or should they have gone all-out for Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg?

The Athletic | Eno Sarris ($): The Brewers need to make improvements, and they really haven’t so far. They have quite a few options. They could trade Josh Hader, maybe in a shoot-for-the-moon one-year shot at Mookie Betts. They could also sign posting candidate Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, or a starter like, say, Madison Bumgarner. All things being equal, they need add something like five wins to be successful in 2020.