The Philadelphia Phillies are perhaps the only club to be a guaranteed seller at the trade deadline given current circumstances. Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, Ben Revere, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are likely all up for grabs.
Today's update comes on Hamels, Papelbon and Revere.
Hamels is possibly regarded as the most coveted trade target leading up to July 31 because of the way he's been pitching coupled with the fact he has up to four years of control after this season. The 31-year-old remains one of the best in the MLB with a 2.96 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 14 starts. He's owed $22.5 million per season through 2018 and has a $20 million team option for 2019.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro is in no rush to trade the left-hander.
"Hamels is a one-of-a-kind item in the market, given his success and that he's under contractual control for at least three more seasons (or more likely four)," writes ESPN Insider Buster Olney. "'They can wait' until closer to the deadline to move Hamels, one rival evaluator said, 'and get great value for him.'"
Amaro has waited this long to deal Hamels and it's hard to believe he is going to jump the gun at this point.
As for Papelbon and Revere, the two have been involved in trade rumors as of late. Last week it was reported the Phillies were willing to pay more of Papelbon's contract to entice teams to make a deal for him (with the Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays expressing interest), while the Seattle Mariners contacted Philadelphia about Revere's availability.
Papelbon has been on the block for quite some time now and Revere has further emerged as a top trade candidate because of the team's crowded outfield now that Domonic Brown and Cody Asche are back from Triple-A.
"Rival evaluators say the Phillies are making an ardent push to make some deals, with Ben Revere and Jonathan Papelbon among those marketed aggressively," Olney added. "The perception of the Phillies is they would be more than willing to kick in money owed to Papelbon for this year and the next, to the degree that they'll be willing to buy value."
The main issue regarding these three trade candidates involves the contracts of Hamels and Papelbon. The two should give the Phillies a good return in any deal, but many teams would be hard-pressed to surrender some top prospects on top of covering all of the finances on either of these deals.
Revere should have a number of suitors at the deadline, but if Amaro is asking for young pitching talent such as James Paxton and Taijuan Walker - which was rumored when the Mariners asked about the outfielder - then the Phillies' GM is going to drive away any others who are interested.
The deadline is a month and a half away, but at least look for Papelbon and Revere to be traded before then. Hamels will more than likely be moved on the final day of the deadline.
