Cole Hamels, the ace of the Philadelphia Phillies' rotation, currently has a 20-team no-trade list dictated by a clause in his contract. He's reportedly updating that list, which means he may be traded this offseason.
If Hamels were to be traded today, the teams eligible for his services include the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers. Before this year's trade deadline, the Dodgers and Red Sox both expressed interest in the left-hander and then the Cubs claimed him off waivers after the deadline. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was said to have wanted too much in return for Hamels, who is also owed over $100 million through 2019 (guaranteed $96 million over the next four years).
Hamels will be submitting his list of team's to the Phillies' front office by November 1, and he may include some more teams on there, including the Cubs, Tigers and/or Mariners. The Cubs are desperately in need of pitching, especially after trading Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the Athletics in July. Under the supervision of president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer, Chicago is nearing the end of their rebuilding process and Epstein has reiterated the club will search outside the organization for pitching help.
The Tigers haven't necessarily been linked to Hamels recently, but they face some free agent issues of their own. Max Scherzer reportedly rejected a contract last offseason that would have paid him $24 million per year and he's now set to become a free agent. His return to Detroit isn't guaranteed, so general manager Don Dombroski may need a contingency plan. But aside from Scherzer, the Tigers also have a bit of an issue with David Price. The left-hander was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline and is arbitration eligible for 2015 and the two are likely to agree on a settlement. But after next season Price is a free agent and Detroit beat writers have said he's expressed no interest in signing a long-term deal with the Tigers. Losing both of these starters would be a huge blow to a talented Detroit team, so they'll need to work on re-signing both or prepare a solid Plan B. Hamels is a great backup plan.
Seattle was loosely believed to have been interested in Hamels last offseason and that may still be true being that their team is headed in the right direction. They missed the playoffs by only one game and perhaps need to upgrade their outfield, but they could also look to add one more arm to put their starting rotation over the edge. The Mariners had the second-best ERA (3.17) in the MLB behind only the Washington Nationals (3.03). 35-year-old Chris Young had a solid season for Seattle (12-9 with a 3.65 ERA), but he'll be a free agent and the team could be looking for an experienced left-hander. In 2015, their highest paid players are Robinson Cano ($24 million) and Felix Hernandez ($24.8 million) and there's not much after that. Hamels could be the piece that puts the Mariners into contention in 2015 among the Angels and Athletics in the tough AL West.
Check out more speculation on Hamels here.
