The Philadelphia Phillies are undergoing a complete makeover throughout the entire organization. They introduced Andy MacPhail on Monday and he'll take over for Pat Gillick as team president after the season. Will this affect the team's trade plans before the deadline?
Rumors suggest it might. A couple if baseball insiders have further knowledge of the situation.
MacPhail was brought in to take control of the front office, which has been responsible for a number of poor trades and signings in recent seasons. When he takes control after the 2015 season, it's unknown what changes will be made, but general manager Ruben Amaro could be gone because his contract expires at the end of the year.
"Most are saying they expect incoming Phillies president Andy MacPhail to make some changes to the front office, and some wondered whether it wasn't the best sign that GM Ruben Amaro wasn't on the dais when MacPhail was introduced," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports in his latest edition of Inside Baseball. "Amaro could be kept in the organization even if he's no longer GM, as he is viewed as a lifetime Phillie, which is just as he portrayed himself."
Changes have been expected in Philadelphia for quite some time now, and perhaps it's not a coincidence that left-hander Cole Hamels has yet to be traded.
"MacPhail has been imported to see what the heck is going on, and while he is working only as a consultant now before transitioning to become team president after the season, it's hard to imagine another established veteran voice could hurt at this point. While high salaries and unpalatable options make some of their players on the block tricky propositions, it's a bit of a mystery why they are still holding Hamels, an excellent pitcher who could help any number of teams."
Now, it's been said Amaro is stubborn in his demands for Hamels, which is completely understandable. The left-hander is still one of the best in the league and he's under contract through at least 2018 (with an option for 2019). Amaro has held out this long, witnessing Hamels' trade value further blossom and now may get an even bigger return in a deal than previously expected. So the team is definitely going to trade him before the deadline, right?
"I'm hearing from other teams that they feel like the Phillies may actually wind up deferring the question of whether or not to trade Cole Hamels until the winter because Andy MacPhail has just taken over and he's getting up to speed," ESPN Insider Buster Olney said on the Baseball Tonight Podcast. "It is clearly going to be a very important decision for this organization."
Olney's guest on the podcast, fellow ESPN Insider Keith Law, weighed in as well.
"Andy MacPhail has been out of the game for a while and probably doesn't know a lot of the younger players, a lot of the new prospects," Law said. "The task for him to get up to speed, and now, again, to rely on a pro scouting staff that's not his own and has no real analytical capabilities in-house, that's very difficult."
The market for Hamels is at its highest right now and the Phillies will more than likely see it wither away in the offseason because of all the top arms that will be available in free agency (David Price, Johnny Cueto, Jordan Zimmermann, potentially Zack Greinke, Jeff Samardzija, Scott Kazmir and others). It's probable Hamels will be traded, but the fact that this idea has been floated around deserves proper addressing.
If Philly fans out there are panicking, here's a bit of relief. Interim manager Pete Mackanin spoke to Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly about a potential Hamels trade and he seemed optimistic something would go down before the deadline.
"I would think that would be probable," he said. "I can't speak for Ruben and anyone else involved in making that deal. We're not involved on the field. But the whole point of this year basically is to see young guys, help us get ready for next year and beyond. If we can get good deals for Hamels and good deals for whomever else there might be out there, (Jonathan) Papelbon. There might be a team that will come after Ben Revere or after Jeff Francoeur. We're not sure about anything so we're going to have to wait and see what develops."
There's less than a month until the trade window closes at 4:00 p.m. ET on July 31. The bidders for Hamels will be lining up around the block, but it's up to the Phillies to decide if they want him gone this season.
