Hammel did well while he was here and put together a respectable final two months with the A's in tough division. People are throwing a fit about his first month in Oakland that skewed an otherwise very, very solid season. And for nine million dollars annually, I'll take that. He's got ties to Maddon (pitched during Maddon's first three years in Tampa) and has been open about enjoying his time in Chicago. The Cubs now have a plethora of options to flesh out the rotation behind Arrieta and Hendricks, who seem to be locks. Wood, Wada, Jackson, Turner, and now Hammel... Trade fodder, spot starters, I like the pitching depth the Cubs are creating. Cubs could look to package some ancillary pieces to fill in their hole in left field and behind the plate so they don't have to spend premium dollars for non-premium position players.
Solid signing.