The St. Louis Cardinals need another starter atop their rotation, and regardless of what Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro says, Philadelphia needs to trade left-hander Cole Hamels to get good value before it's too late. Do the Cardinals have a plan?
Last month it was reported St. Louis would need to include starting pitcher Carlos Martinez in a potential deal with the Phillies if they wanted to acquire Hamels. However, shortly thereafter Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the Cardinals aren't open to that idea.
"The club spent a lot time this winter clearing the way for Martinez to get his next best shot at winning a starting job," he writes. "They added relievers who could fill any of the roles he once had in the bullpen, and the clubhouse and manager took on the role of building Martinez's confidence throughout the winter. The Cardinals were intent on giving Martinez, who has been tagged with the nickname 'Little Pedro' because of his size, his stuff, and his last name, every opportunity to be their fifth starter."
Even before this was known, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi added:
"To secure Hamels, the Cardinals likely would need to part with Martinez or (Marco) Gonzales as well as an outfielder such as Randal Grichuk or Stephen Piscotty (the Phillies have long coveted Peter Bourjos as well, sources say)."
"Such a price could be prohibitive."
Philadelphia expressed interest in Bourjos earlier this offseason, but the outfielder has gotten off to a slow start this spring after being limited last season because of a hip impingement. Being that Bourjos is viewed as a backup by the Cardinals and hasn't had a good campaign since 2011, it's unlikely his spring performance has surprised the Phillies. Obviously Bourjos wouldn't be enough to land Hamels, but St. Louis could sell high on either Grichuk or Piscotty by throwing one of them into a deal.
Grichik is batting .273/.385/.727 with seven runs scored, three home runs and six RBIs in 10 games thus far, while Piscotty is slashing .333/.375/.381 with one run scored, five RBIs and two stolen bases in 12 games. St. Louis can certainly afford to part ways with one of them for the sake of bolstering their injury-plagued starting rotation.
Additionally, although Amaro has stood his ground in terms of what he wants in exchange for Hamels, that asking price doesn't appear as if it can remain as high as he wants it for much longer. Cliff Lee went down with a torn ligament in his elbow, which will likely end his career, and Hamels is off to a poor start this spring (0-1 with a 9.00 ERA and 1.86 WHIP in three starts). Whether Amaro believes so or not, this affects the market for Hamels because now Philadelphia needs to get rid of the left-hander as a last resort to free themselves of $96 million and expedite their rebuilding process.
As we noted earlier today, Hamels' innings count isn't too far off from Lee's number when the 36-year-old suffered the flexor pronator strain in his elbow. This doesn't make Hamels more susceptible to injury, but it does provide an idea of what may happen if the Phillies wait too long.
Also for St. Louis, Marco Gonzales is off to a good spring, having started two games and owning a 2-0 record with a 0.00 ERA and 0.67 WHIP in six innings of work. It's all speculation at this point, but might the Cardinals be considering a Gonzales, Grichuk/Piscotty and Bourjos package for Cole Hamels? And would the Phillies accept such a deal before Opening Day to avoid any further issues in terms of trade value with Hamels?
The hypothetical deal would give the Phillies another young starter and much-needed depth in the outfield, while the Cardinals can add an elite starter to the top of their rotation and buy some time as Adam Wainwright, Michael Wacha and Lance Lynn look to full recover from their injuries.
Amaro said there remains interest in Hamels, and one of those suitors could be the Cardinals.
