Hamels drawing league-wide interest, open to signing with White Sox

Veteran left-hander Cole Hamels is on the free-agent market for the first time in his 14-year-career and he may not have much difficulty finding a new home.

Hamels told Chuck Garfien of NBC Sports Chicago on the "White Sox Talk" podcast that his agent has fielded calls from plenty of interested parties this offseason.

"I know my agent has had conversations with multiple teams just about the interest," Hamels said. "Probably more than I think what he anticipated when the season ended because you kind of look at it and go, 'There might only be six or seven teams that are really going to try and go for it and might have a position to fill and you would fit their need.' But truthfully, it's been over half the teams in the league.

"That's pretty exciting to know I'm doing something well on the field, and I guess my personality off the field is being seen in a good light."

The 35-year-old stressed that he's interested in joining a team that plans to compete and suggested the Chicago White Sox fit that mold.

Hamels added that the White Sox got in touch earlier this offseason to express their interest in working out a deal once they finalized a few other moves. So far, Chicago has signed catcher Yasmani Grandal to a four-year contract and extended veteran first baseman Jose Abreu for three more seasons.

"They're a team that (is) making some serious strides," Hamels said. "I know I've pitched against them the last couple years and you can see the young talent they have and now how they're actually learning the game and how they're playing well together. At first, I think I was beating them a lot, and then the last couple seasons, they really came out hard and beat up on me.

"It's good to see. I love the city of Chicago. Being there for about a year and a half, it's one of my favorite cities to travel to."

The Chicago Cubs acquired Hamels from the Texas Rangers at the 2018 trade deadline. With the Cubs, Hamels went 11-10 with a 3.30 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 217 strikeouts in 218 innings.