Hamels Is the Best of Scherzer and Shields

             Max Scherzer and James Shields are the best pitchers on the free agent market, but are they worth the payday? The former CY Young winner Scherzer is a definite ace, and boy does he know it looking for a 7-8 year contract north of $200M. He is probably worth what he is asking however the Yankees don't need an ace, so why pay for one? Shields would make more sense being more of a #2 starter with the ability to take over and be an ace. He is looking for a more reasonable 4-5 years between $100M-$120M. Now he is really worth it during the regular season proving to be a real workhorse. However his only problem is that he is a terrible postseason pitcher with a career 5.46 ERA in 11 games. With how much Shields costs the main point of signing him should be to get to the postseason. He would do a great job getting them their however he would do a terrible job pitching for them when they get there. With both of these pitchers having their ups and downs which one is the best? Which one would be best for the Yankees to sign and have in the rotation in 2015? The answer is neither of them, the answer is Cole Hamels.

Cole Hamels has been on the market for some time. All of the trades involving him have seen to just fall right through. This is probably because the Phillies GM is Rubin Amaro Jr who is known for overvaluing his players and asking too much for them, if the Yankees where to trade for Hamels it would cost top prospects such as Gary Sanchez, Ian Clarkin, and Eric Jagielo. If the Yankees where to eat up the majority of the contract however the cost would be lower considering he has 4 years 90M left on his contract.

Hammels the best option for the Yankees?

Even with the cost of Hamels being high he would still be worth it considering the Yankees need for another strong starter. Hamels is a definite mix between Scherzer and Shields. He has the same ability as Scherzer being an ace, and is great in the postseason with a career 3.09 ERA in 13 games, plus he was the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP. He also brings the same workhorse quality that Shields brings with not having pitched less than 200 innings since 2010, and hasn't pitched less than 180 innings since 2007. He brings around the same cost that Shields has left on his contract with only 4 years $90M left on his contract. Hamels would be a way better option than Scherzer or Shields and he would fit perfectly into the Yankee rotation.