The Philadelphia Phillies appear to be heading toward a rebuilding period and it may have began last week when they traded shortstop Jimmy Rollins to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Is starter Cole Hamels the next to go?
According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, Padres and Rangers are interested in Hamels. The Padres and Rangers are the latest to enter the disucssions. Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago have maintained interest in Hamels for at least a few months now, but Phillies' general manager Ruben Amaro has stood his ground in terms of what he wants for the left-hander.
Cafardo adds, "The sleeper team is the aggressive Astros. The Giants may be in if they can't get James Shields. The feeling has been that if the Red Sox would pick up Hamels's 2019 option at $20 million, he would waive his no-trade. The five years remaining on Hamels's deal would be worth $110 million. Would he want an extension beyond that to OK a trade?"
Boston has perhaps been trying to acquire Hamels for the longest, dating back prior to this year's trade deadline. The Cubs have been involved as well and even went as far as claiming him off waivers in August in an attempt to work out a trade with Philadelphia. Former Dodgers' general manager Ned Colletti engaged in talks with the Phillies about Hamels this past season too, but he didn't want to surrender one (or more) of the team's top prospects.
What's interesting is that the Red Sox, Cubs, Giants and Dodgers may find themselves in another bidding war. The Cubs won the most recent one when they landed Jon Lester on a six-year, $155 million contract, but the sweepstakes for Hamels will be much different. Although the Padres, Rangers and Astros are believed to be involved, it's unlikely Hamels waives his no-trade clause for any of those teams since they're not in a position to win like the others are.
Corey Seidman of CSN Philly believes the Dodgers are perhaps positioning themselves to land Hamels after the flurry of trades they executed last week at the MLB Winter Meetings. Los Angeles acquired Rollins from Philadelphia and second baseman Howie Kendrick from the Angels. They traded second baseman Dee Gordon and starting pitcher Dan Haren to the Miami Marlins for prospects and then unloaded outfielder Matt Kemp and $32 million to the Padres for four more players. They gave themselves payroll relief by avoiding arbitration with Gordon, shedding Haren's $10 million salary (if he opts to pitch for Miami and not retire), and having the Padres take on $75 million of Kemp's contract.
"What this series of moves does for L.A. is builds flexibility - the kind that would allow the Dodgers to pursue a high-priced free agent like Max Scherzer or trade for a whale like Cole Hamels," Seidman writes. "Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported Tuesday night that Hamels will not be dealt to L.A. in the Rollins trade. That doesn't close the door on a future deal, it just means Hamels likely isn't being packaged with Rollins in this particular move."
However, the Cubs, Giants and Red Sox are also in need of another established arm. The Cubs have Lester, but beyond him there aren't pitchers you'd particularly rely on in a must-win situation. Beyond Madison Bumgarner, the Giants have Matt Cain (who is returning from elbow surgery), Tim Hudson (who is "probably" retiring after the 2015 season) and Yusmeiro Petit (who has only 56 career starts in seven seasons). The Red Sox are in need of an ace, as their starting rotation consists of Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson, Wade Miley and Joe Kelly.
So although discussions regarding Hamels have been ongoing for quite some time, they might actually just be starting since the offseason has resulted in a number of moves that put these teams in a better situation to acquire the left-hander. We'll see what develops as the trade talks continue.
