Believe it or not, starting pitcher Cole Hamels is still available via trade. The Philadelphia Phillies have yet to deal him despite much interest from around the MLB. Recent rumors suggest the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres could make a run at the left-hander.
There's some speculation from two insiders that imply the Yankees or Padres could strike a deal for Hamels in the near future.
ESPN's Jim Bowden made a case for New York in his 10 bold predictions for 2015. His No. 1 prediction was "Cole Hamels will be traded to the New York Yankees and not the Boston Red Sox," and it has since gained some traction considering Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia have had poor outings for the Yanks. While these two pitchers are still getting acclimated in their returns to the starting rotation, their woes could very well continue and the Yankees are likely aware of that.
But a trade for Hamels could even be a possibility if Tanaka, Sabathia and Michael Pineda manage to stay healthy.
"The Red Sox have the best farm system of the interested teams but to date have balked at including either Mookie Betts or Blake Swihart in a package to land him," writes Bowden. "That position is unlikely to change, and if the Yankees are still in the pennant race come July, and Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda remain healthy, then I predict Yanks general manager Brian Cashman will do what he doesn't want to do and trade two of his top prospects to land Hamels, which could propel the Bronx Bombers to an October playoff game."
While Bowden's prediction is realistic, Cashman has made it known the organization wants to focus on getting younger by bolstering the farm system, and trading away two of their top prospects would go against that philosophy.
Additionally, the San Diego Padres could be a legitimate threat to acquire Hamels because the left-hander is from San Diego and Padres general manager A.J. Preller has a bit of experience this offseason with making trades. After revamping the entire Padres roster, it looks like Preller isn't done.
"...Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. went on WIP with Jim Jackson for his first weekly segment of the regular season geared toward fan interaction," writes Corey Seidman of CSN Philly. "One comment made by Amaro stuck out - his disclosure that he has 'fielded plenty of calls over the last couple days' from San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller."
Previous rumors would suggest those calls were regarding Hamels. San Diego has kept in touch with Philadelphia regarding the ace, and another veteran the Phillies have made available - Jonathan Papelbon - is of no use to the Padres because they just acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the Atlanta Braves.
However, Seidman wonders if Preller's calls were regarding second baseman Chase Utley, who he thinks is the "best fit" for the West Coast club.
It could have been either one of those stars because San Diego is heavy on right-handed pitching and batting. Hamels would add a left arm to the starting rotation and Utley would add a left-handed power bat in the lineup.
Whatever the case, keep an eye out for the Yankees or Padres to make a run at Hamels as both clubs look to end their postseason droughts.