Every day that Cole Hamels remains a Phillie, is a game of Russian Roulette. The Phillies need to move what could potentially be the steal of the offseason. It’s garnering more and more national attention, especially after Hamels’ comments about wanting to play for a contender and Philly not being one. Yesterday, MLB.com’s Jim Duquette listed the Red Sox, Cardinals, Padres, and Cubs as the top contenders for acquiring Hamels. The Red Sox were still the favorite with the remaining interested but not seemingly holding him a priority.
To be perfectly honest, the worst thing that happened to Cole Hamels’ value was Billy Beane. Last summer, when Billy Beane sent Addison Russell to the Chicago Cubs as the center piece to a deal for Jeff Samardzija, Amaro immediately got his hopes up for acquiring a super elite prospect for Hamels. The truth is, basically any prospect that is in the top 30 of all players, should basically be forgotten. No on Swihart, Bryant, Russell, and possibly even Henry Owens, depending on your source material. It’s very rare that a top 30 prospect gets moved in any type of deal and for good reason. The risk is too high.
I’ve stated multiple times that with the state of the Phillies farm, they need to focus on a balance between quality and quantity. Instead of focusing on a top 25 ranked player, how about two top 100 ranked players with at least one being in the top 50? With the Red Sox, it’s apparent that Swihart and Betts are off limits, but why not start with Owens and Margot, add Vazquez and Cecchini, and if the Phillies don’t want subsidize any of Hamels’ contract, take back OF Allen Craig. That’s $26.5M guaranteed with an other $12M possible if the Phillies pick up his team option.
The Padres and Cubs seem to be out of the running, in my opinion. While Hedges is great defensively, he hasn’t proven he can be a starting major league caliber catcher. Renfroe hasn’t met a pitch he wouldn’t swing at. I understand why the Phillies balked at that offer. Asking for Bryant or Russell from the Cubs is laughable. Especially if the Phillies asked for the Cubs to pick up all of Hamels’ contract. Soler is an attractive piece, but has yet to prove he can be healthy for an entire season.
So that leaves the Cardinals. Carlos Martinez definitely has the stuff to be in a major league rotation and St. Louis doesn’t seem to have a spot for him before trading for Hamels. However, Wacha and Wainwright are both coming off of injuries, so who’s to say Martinez doesn’t make that rotation out of necessity. I’d definitely look to center any deal with the Cardinals around Martinez and Piscotty. From there, if you could land a Reyes and/or Gonzales, I don’t see how you could say no.
Tags: Adam Wainwright, Addison Russell, Alex Reyes, Allen Craig, Austin Hedges, Billy Beane, Blake Swihart, Boston Red Sox, Carlos Martinez, chicago cubs, Christian Vazquez, Cole Hamels, Garin Cecchini, Henry Owens, Hunter Renfroe, Jeff Samardzija, Jorge Soler, Kris Bryant, Manuel Margot, Marco Gonzales, Michael Wacha, Ruben Amaro, San Diego Padres, spring training, st louis cardinals, Stephen Piscotty, trade
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