A couple of weeks ago it was reported the Philadelphia Phillies were in "staredowns" with four teams regarding a trade for Cole Hamels. Then general manager Ruben Amaro said the left-hander would probably be with the team on Opening Day. What's going on here?
Well, Mike Gibson of Rant Sports thinks the whole "keeping Hamels" idea is a bluff. The Phillies signed starting pitcher Chad Billingsley on Thursday and Todd Zolecki of MLB.com said the right-hander provides depth in the event Hamels or Cliff Lee are traded. Being that they've been in discussions with a number of teams, it's possible Amaro is looking to get the best possible offer before pulling the trigger.
"Amaro is now saying he does not expect to trade Hamels by the start of the season. Translation: We do not like our offers and we are eagerly anticipating new ones," writes Gibson. "Ever since the Stone Age, traders would always play coy, saying they wanted to hold onto something another cave man wanted in order to up its value. Amaro is playing Cole, not coy."
Amaro's asking price for Hamels has been said to be too high by a number of executives who spoke to him about a deal. Three top prospects has been the reported demand, with one of them being able to make an immediate impact and two others for the future. Since the demand for Hamels is high (the Red Sox and Padres need an ace while the Cardinals want insurance after Adam Wainwright's elbow surgery), Amaro has no problem being patient and having Hamels start Opening Day for the Phillies. After all, the left-hander's presence significantly increases their chances of winning.
"For Amaro to get the offer he wants for Hamels, he needs leverage. To get leverage, he needs more desperate buyers," writes Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report. "...But it may not be long before Amaro has a desperate team or two knocking on his door ... It's not unthinkable that a team will get midway through spring training, suddenly have second thoughts about its rotation and decide to get serious about Hamels."
Let's say the Red Sox and Padres enter spring training and aren't crazy about their starting five, neither of which has a clear leader atop the rotation. As for St. Louis, what if Adam Wainwright doesn't look as sharp and Michael Wacha still has yet to return to form? Might these teams pick up the phone shortly after pitchers and catchers report in a few weeks if they aren't satisfied with what they see?
The fact that the discussions have been ongoing leads many to believe the interest is genuine, but the suitors are probably unsure if they want to give up a lot of young talent for a pitcher in his thirties who is owed $100 million over the next four seasons. Hamels is certainly a commodity, but the value of prospects is perhaps the highest it has ever been. We'll just have to wait and see.
"It's funny. In this game, things change. People are not in the mood to do something, then they go to Spring Training and all of a sudden ... they realize they want to be competitive and want to do something," Phillies president Pat Gillick told Zolecki. "A lot of this maybe will shake out in Spring Training. I'd look for probably more interest in a lot of our players come Spring Training."
