The usual suspects - Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers - are said to be leading the Cole Hamels sweepstakes, but can the Houston Astros or San Francisco Giants swoop in at the last moment and grab the veteran ace before the MLB's non-waiver trade deadline?
The Astros and Giants are said to be making a big push for Hamels, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. Houston is still looking to add to their starting rotation even after acquiring Scott Kazmir from the Oakland Athletics last week and San Francisco has almost $50 million coming off the books this offseason, so they'd be able to afford Hamels as they continue to search for "top-of-rotation arms," ESPN's Jayson Stark reported yesterday.
Houston has been linked to Hamels in trade rumors for a while now, but there have been reports indicating the left-hander would not waive his no-trade clause to go to the Astros. However, general manager Jeff Luhnow has the resources in the organization's deep farm system to land Hamels and the Astros (55-45) have established themselves as contenders this year and likely beyond. They sit one game behind the Los Angeles Angels for the AL West lead and currently hold the top wild-card spot.
Luhnow told Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle over the weekend that there's a "good chance" the team will be "involved in one other deal." The Astros are still looking to bolster their bullpen and add another outfield bat as well, so there's a possibility that other deal may not involve Hamels due to all the competition on the market.
As for the Giants, we wrote yesterday that they would be interested in a trade for David Price if the Tigers were to make him available. However, FOX Sports' Jon Morosi reported yesterday that the Tigers "remain in 'buy mode' for now," unless they have a poor series against the Tampa Bay Rays this week. In the meantime, it appears the Giants are shifting their attention to Hamels, who would provide them with stability beyond the 2015 season. That's if, of course, the Phillies feel the Giants have the pieces to make a deal.
That may not be the case, according to Rosenthal.
Sources: #SFGiants pushing for Hamels, but #Phillies question whether they have enough to offer. #Rangers, #Dodgers still strong.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2015
San Francisco has one of the weaker farm systems in the MLB, although they do have a number of solid pitching prospects that could interest the Phillies. The Giants were rumored to have made a push for the left-hander at some point after Philadelphia put him on the market last year, so perhaps the two sides discussed the potential framework for such a deal in the past.
Nonetheless, both the Astros and Giants need some stability beyond their No. 1 and No. 2 starters because there remain a lot of question marks in both of their rotations. If they really want Hamels, it looks like they'll have to out-bid the Rangers and Dodgers at this point.
There are just over three days remaining until the deadline and Phillies' general manager Ruben Amaro will have his phone ringing off the hook.
