Posts Tagged ‘Cole Hamels’

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Following The 40: Off-season Primer

October 12th, 2015 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Following The 40: Off-season Primer | Filed in Baseball, General, MLB, Phillies

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As the Phillies off-season begins, the first order of business was to pair down the roster to 40 players including ones that would be coming off of injured status. Earlier last week, the Phillies outrighted Justin De Fratus (who recently elected free agency), Jonathan Pettibone, Adam Loewen, Ken Roberts, Erik Kratz, Jordan Danks, and Chase d’Arnaud. The roster currently stands at forty, but with a strong likelihood that Cliff Lee, Chad Billingsley, Aaron Harang, Jerome Williams, Brian Bogusevic, Jeff Francoeur, and Andres Blanco all head to free agency.

Francoeur and Blanco are expected to be asked to return, but will both certainly be given offers with other clubs. Domonic Brown may have seen his last inning as a Phillie as he has a very strong chance of being non-tendered a contract. Jesse Biddle and David Buchanan are both likely to be outrighted in the near future due to their respective injury statuses. That sets the Phillies at 30 players.

Whoever the next General Manager may be, while they have the resources, there probably won’t be any huge splashes for 2016. In fact, the Phillies acquisitions will most likely be role players and players coming off of injury looking to establish value. The rotation will most likely consist of Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, and Adam Morgan as pitchers three thru five with Alec Asher and Severino Gonzalez given opportunities.

Matt Harrison, whom the Phillies acquired at the trade deadline in the Cole Hamels deal, could also be an option if he is healthy enough to compete. The Phillies could also add from within with Zach Eflin and Ben Lively as potential candidates. My personal targets for the Phillies to add from free agency: Mat Latos or Doug Fister.

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Breaking: Cole Hamels traded to Texas Rangers

July 30th, 2015 by Sam Shipley | Comments Off on Breaking: Cole Hamels traded to Texas Rangers | Filed in General, MLB, Phillies

Cole Hamels has been traded to the Texas Rangers, according to multiple reports. This day has been talked about for close to a year now, and the rumors have finally become reality. The Rangers were believed to be the favorites for Hamels all week long, and it seems that they never really were going to lose out on Hamels after all.

According to unofficial reports, the Phillies will be getting back catching prospect Jorge Alfaro, who is highly regarded as one of, if not the top catching prospects in baseball. Along with Alfaro, it is being reported that the Phillies will be receiving outfielder Nick Williams, and RHPs, Jake Thompson, Jack Eickhoff and Alec Asher. The Phillies will also acquire pitcher Matt Harrison from Texas.

Williams is the Rangers 5th ranked prospect according to MLB.com, and is ranked 64th in MLB.com’s top 100 prospect rankings. Jake Thompson is listed as the 4th ranked prospect on the Rangers and is ranked 60th overall on MLB.com’s top 100 prospect list. Eickhoff is the Rangers 17th ranked prospect, and Asher is the Rangers 29th ranked prospect according to MLB.com.

Headed back to the Rangers along with Hamels, will be reliever Jake Diekman and cash.

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Cole Hamels Trade News

July 28th, 2015 by Sam Shipley | Comments Off on Cole Hamels Trade News | Filed in General, MLB, Phillies

*Note: This page will strictly have updates regarding Cole Hamels. For all previous updates click here

Bookmark this page for all the latest Cole Hamels trade news.

7/28/15 (9:22 AM): The San Francisco Giants have made a big push for Cole Hamels, according to Ken Rosenthal.

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Matching Up With The Rangers?

July 28th, 2015 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Matching Up With The Rangers? | Filed in Baseball, MLB, Phillies

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As we make our way towards the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline on Friday, the names of possible destinations will emerge and subside. As Sam Shipley pointed out, and has continuously updated, the teams involved in Hamels Watch include the Dodgers, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Giants, Cubs, Yankees, and Astros with the Rangers currently the front-runners to acquire Hamels. One of Ken Rosenthal’s sources with inside knowledge of the Rangers organization states that outfielder Nomar Mazara is off-limits in any deal and that injured catcher Jorge Alfaro is only an option if the Phillies pay down Hamels’ future salary commitments. To me, this is just posturing on the Rangers end. I’ve agreed with Rosenthal in the past that Cole Hamels’ value is what other teams are willing to pay, but lets look honestly into what the Rangers are “refusing” to part with.

Nomar Mazara would obviously be the center piece to the deal. He is hitting .284/.355/.444 as a 20-year-old in AA Frisco. He will not be 21 until next April, so even if the Phillies left him in AA the rest of the season and/or promoted him to AAA between now and 2016, he’d realistically be a late June call-up of next year, at the earliest. Scouting reports grade him out having an above average arm and above average to well above average power. He would definitely be the left-handed bat in the middle of the lineup with Maikel Franco for the forseeable future.

For me, the secondary piece in this deal should be outfielder Lewis Brinson. The 21-year-old is currently hitting .327/.411/.588 in High A High Desert in the California League. Brinson won’t be 22 until next May and has graded out as having above average power, speed, and fielding abilities. What makes him not a center piece is that the California League tends to inflate players’ stats. The last “center piece” the Phillies acquired that played in the California League during his age 21 season? Tyson Gillies hit .340/.430/.486 before being traded and has had just one season since that he hit over .247. If acquired, I’d like to see Brinson move directly to AA Reading and let him sink or swim there the rest of 2015 and into 2016.

For as much promise as Jorge Alfaro boasts, he suffered a severe left ankle injury at the beginning of June that required surgery. An injury to the ankle that requires surgery is generally a broken bone or a ligament injury. I’m speculating that ligament is the problem as a broken bone would just simply be reported. Ankle ligament surgery is a rather lengthy process to recover from. Being that the surgery was performed in June, Alfaro can’t even start light exercising until September or resume baseball activities until January. Basically, Alfaro would most likely be behind heading into Spring Training. To basically say that Alfaro is a deal breaker is ludicrous as he will lose the best part of a year in development time.

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Report: Five teams interested in Hamels, Dodgers and Rangers emerge as “favorites”

July 26th, 2015 by Sam Shipley | Comments Off on Report: Five teams interested in Hamels, Dodgers and Rangers emerge as “favorites” | Filed in Baseball, MLB, Phillies

(Updates at the bottom)

Coming off of an unbelievable no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs yesterday, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that trade talk would increase for Cole Hamels immediately after. It was reported on Friday that the Cubs had made the Phillies an offer that included Javier Baez and Starlin Castro.

According to FOXSports.com MLB reporter Ken Rosenthal, the market seems to be expanding for Hamels:

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Report: Phillies and Cubs talking Cole Hamels deal

July 24th, 2015 by Sam Shipley | Comments Off on Report: Phillies and Cubs talking Cole Hamels deal | Filed in Baseball, MLB, Phillies

The MLB Trade Deadline is officially one week away and the big question in Philadelphia is whether Cole Hamels will still be a member of the Phillies after July 31st.

As of now there have not been many reports indicating that a Hamels trade is in any kind of advanced stages, and quite honestly there haven’t been many reports indicating a lot of trade talk for the former World Series MVP.

However, talks are likely to pick up as we get closer to the deadline. One team who has interest in trading for Hamels is the Chicago Cubs.

According to CSN Chicago’s David Kaplan, the Cubs and Phillies are in conversations about a deal that would send Hamels to the Cubs:

“MLB sources confirmed to me this afternoon that the Cubs have been in discussions with the Philadelphia Phillies on a deal for Cole Hamels who has three years left on his current contract plus an option year. While he is an expensive piece he fits the needs of the team to upgrade their rotation while adding a player who would be a part of the team beyond the rest of this season. The Cubs will probably add an additional starter for depth perhaps as a rental type but that is not expected to be a significant acquisition.”

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Is Cole Hamels The Prize Of The Deadline?

July 21st, 2015 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Is Cole Hamels The Prize Of The Deadline? | Filed in Baseball, Phillies

Will the Cole Hamels’ next start in Chicago be for or against the Phillies?

Every year, whether it be at the GM Winter Meetings or the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline, there’s always that one big name that holds up the rest of the market. This summer is no different and it very well could be Cole Hamels that has become “that guy“. Sure there are sexier names like David Price and Johnny Cueto available, but ultimately they are bigger overpays. First of all, they are rentals. Outside of the Cubs trading for Price, I highly doubt either pitcher will start 2016 with the team they end 2015 with. Second of all, they would be no doubt about it Qualifying Offer candidates, meaning that if they were to stay with their current team and no sign a one-year tender and sign with another team, the current team would be entitled to draft pick compensation in next year’s draft. That being said, the Reds and Tigers are going to be looking for a package that includes additional compensation for losing that draft pick.

The next tier includes guys like Mike Leake, Ian Kennedy, James Shields, and Jeff Samardzija. None are a bad pitcher, but none are tried and tested aces. In fact, not even Price or Cueto have the playoff pedigree that Hamels has. Do I doubt that many teams look to the second tier guys for depth? Any team in the playoff hunt would be crazy not to. Any of these pitchers could easily be an upgrade over what a team currently has, but are any of them worthy of being that go to guy in a one game playoff? They’d definitely keep you in the game, but probably won’t win it for you like Hamels can.

So let’s be honest, there are probably some sleeper teams out there looking at the long-term that don’t get discussed in the “Hamels Sweepstakes”, but the ones most discussed about are the Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, Rangers, and Orioles. Right off the top, I’d cross off the Orioles just based on the fact that they don’t have much to offer in return. Sure teams like the Pirates, Astros, and Blue Jays have kicked the tires on Hamels, but that seems to be just due diligence. I could be dead wrong, but I highly doubt he ends up in any of those uniforms. I’d probably cross off the Dodgers as well. They have two things going against them. One is that they appear to be trying to pull the “I’m gonna low-ball you an offer just because I’m willing to eat all the remaining contract” card. The other is that, in my opinion, no team is going to trade you a top 30 ranked prospect in all of baseball. So that probably means no Seager and no Urias. Which I’m okay with. Both are great and I wouldn’t say no to either one, but I’m excited with what the Phillies have in those positions.

While in the off-season, my main destination was clearly the Red Sox, my in season target has been slowly drifting towards the Chicago Cubs. With Miguel Montero’s recent injury, I don’t know what the availability of Kyle Schwarber would be, but he’d be my center piece around Mark Zagunis and Billy McKinney. The deal may have to expand due to Chicago’s need behind the dish (Carlos Ruiz anyone?) or involve a third team. Either way, the Phillies need to get this one right.

What if the Phillies don’t end up moving Hamels? Well, simply put, they’d have an increasingly hard time moving him before next July 31st to gain a proper value. With Cueto and Price basically guaranteed to be moved, they’d be the prizes of the offseason with guys like Jordan Zimmermann and  Zack Greinke not falling too far behind. Yeah all of those guys, would cost a lot of years and money, but that’s all they would cost. Not a large contract AND prospects to boot. So at best, Hamels would be the 5th most desirable pitcher this winter.

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