Though Cole Hamels hasn’t performed well over his past two starts, trade interest in him doesn’t appear to be dying down. Despite previous comments that put a damper on the Hamels-to-Rangers rumors for awhile, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers are “very much involved” in trade talks for Hamels, and they appear to be bidding about the Astros. That’s not the only Rangers/Hamels connection, either; Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that the Dodgers are the name he hears linked to Hamels most frequently, but the Rangers closely follow them.
Grant writes that while the Rangers do want to bolster their 2015 chances, a Hamels acquisition would be made with an eye toward pairing him atop their rotation with Yu Darsish in 2016-17. The Rangers have been said to dislike the notion of paying Hamels $23.5MM annually, so it seems likely that they’d ask for some kind of financial compensation, especially if they’re to part with top prospects in the deal. Joey Gallo wouldn’t exchange hands in a Hamels deal, Grant notes, listing outfielder Nomar Mazara and the injured-but-still-vaunted catching prospect Jorge Alfaro as likelier options. (Chi Chi Gonzalez’s name has also come up in speculative rumors in the past.)
Grant doesn’t get any indication of what the Astros might be willing to offer, but GM Jeff Luhnow has been vocal about acquiring a pitcher that could pitch in the first game or two of a playoff series. Hamels would fit that bill. Houston’s reportedly more comfortable parting with right-hander Mark Appel than with top outfield prospect Brett Phillips, and the team is said to be highly resistant to the idea of trading right-hander Lance McCullers. Even beyond McCullers, Phillips and the of-course-off-limits Carlos Correa, however, the Astros have a deep farm system that got even deeper with what most praised as a highly successful draft. While the players selected in this year’s draft are, of course, ineligible to be traded, the influx of talent might make Houston a bit more comfortable moving some of its preexisting young talent.
The Dodgers/Hamels connection has been persistent over the past few months. Los Angeles clearly has the financial wherewithal to absorb Hamels’ contract in its entirety, if the Phillies wish to go that route, though doing so would lessen the return that Philadelphia received in terms of prospects. To this point, it’s been reported that neither Corey Seager or Julio Urias is available in trades, and Peter Gammons reported yesterday that the Dodgers are also loath to part with promising young catcher Austin Barnes or right-hander Jose De Leon, whose stock continues to rapidly rise (both ESPN’s Keith Law and Baseball America ranked him among the game’s Top 25 prospects on their midseason updates.)
So SP Jose De Leon (ranked #20 in Baseball America’s midseason Top 50 list), SP Zach Lee and maybe a couple other minor prospects for Cole Hamels. Is this a fit? If not, who says no?
Phillies, See Comment Above !
If this package was offered to Philadelphia, a deal would already been done. DeLeon is going to be a number 2 starter. Zach Lee a number 4-5 starter and Swenney Schebler and the Phillies not retaining any salary. How can RAJ say no?
To say de leon is going to be a number 2 starter is way too much certainty. The 94 innings hes thrown this year is the most of his career. Its not a known that he can handle the work load of a full season before his arm explodes yet.
Raj can’t say no, but he also can’t say yes…. Dude is about to be fired at seasons end. Tillich and macfail have final say. For mafail to sign off on it, without his own guys in place, it better be darn close to a no brainer…. Or your team will be minus one proven WS Ace for your postseason roster. To be honest, the phillies don’t seem to be in such a desperate need to deal him, it’s sounding more and more media hyperbole. Papelbon is who they NEED. To trade. For one, Hamels has an absolutely awesome contract for his caliber, like 7 mil under market value ( now if he declines rapidly or is hurt this changes quickly but that’s sports). Hamels, Nola, this years high draft pick, a FA and another minor league prospects that develops … They are good with the bullpen. It’s not that much of a stretch that they could turn around the pitching staff very quickly, it’s ot like they couldn’t make a play for one of the FA pitchers everyone is talking about grabbing in tge offseason …. Instead of trading for Hamels now and giving up prospects .. I hope they sign David price or another younger potential ace this offseason and hold onto Hamels. See how other teams view their precious prospects then, especially when tgey become the next Dom brown … An allstar for 5 seconds
deleon pitched last week but is listed as being on the DL now- any idea what the issue is. no matter how good Deleon is, the fact that he was a 24th round pick with a 35k bonus just 2 years ago, and now he’s the main part of a trade for your ace, is a little tough to wrap my brain around as a phils fan.
Don’t know anything about De Leon going on the DL. Are you sure? As far as what round he was drafted, I wouldn’t attach any stigma to that. De Leon was the product of good scouting and development by the Dodgers. He definitely profiles as a potential No. 1 or No. 2 SP and he could be ready to pitch in the majors very soon.
Hes not close to the majors unless you are talking about a relief role. Theres a reason his walk rate has doubled since he hit AA
The phillies say no. Zach lee isnt even a real prospect anymore. It would have to be de leon, grant holmes +
Appel. Fisher. throw in Singleton. hahahaha
if the Phillies don’t take those 3 for Hamels…..they are cray cray
We don’t want our trash back… You can keep singleton …..
Mazara, Chi Chi, Hanser Alberto, and two smaller prospects for Hamels, J Pap, and cash.
Maybe, Say the Phillies !
If the phils throw in cash you need one more higher end prospect.
Alfaro and Rangers get back a decent amount of cash.
De leon, holmes, barnes & maybe zach lee should do it. I think that’s enough
Dodgers would never agree to that.
De leon has the most upside from these prospects. Top of the rotation guy
Dodgers wouldn’t deal De Leon and Holmes in the same package to get Hamels. I think De Leon, Lee and guys like Scott Schebler or Darnell Sweeney make more sense.
Then hamels doesnt go there.
Wasn’t me and Phils would want Seager
No way the Phillies get Seager for Hamels.
Why would the Phillies trade Hamels without getting Seager? The Dodgers are posturing, but ultimately they are going to have to give up 2 very high prospects they would rather keep…. Or they can go into the playoffs praying that kershaw doesn’t have another one of his patented postseason meltdowns …. Or they could throw deleonin there if he such an untradeable prospect… If a team is going to bolster their playoff chances, they are going to have to overpay, it’s not the offseason, teams pay more now, and as they should
Well the main reason would be because they have no real shot at Seeger. Hamels is nether cheap nor young. Its better they trade him for a package with nice upside to get a start on the rebuild. They have very few good trade pieces. i
Actually when you compare what Hamels is getting to what the other pitchers of his caliber are getting in free agency he is incredibly cheap.
rather include Sweeney and Schebler than get 3 pitchers back. we need position players. 1st base / 2nd base / catcher and outfielders.
I rather give those prospects and keep de leon.
I know the Dodgers want to keep de leon, so… Barnes, Sweeney, Schebler and Zach Lee for Hamels.
To me this seems like a fair trade. Especially for the money he’s still owed.
That package would be fair, considering no De Leon or Holmes is in there. I think that trade helps both teams. The Phils would fill a lot of needs and offload a lot of salary on the Dodgers.
The Phillies don’t care about offloading salary. They’d throw millions to pay Hamels contract to get better prospects.
phil’s dont need to offload salary though. if that was the Dodgers offer, i’d pass. that reminds me too much of padilla, daal, figeroa and travis lee for curt schilling.
You need a headliner. Texas has four players in Baseball Prospectus top 50. They might be willing to offer two of them in a deal. If the Dodgers don’t offer DeLeon, they can’t get away with stacking the deal with second line players. At the very least Holmes would have to be in.
Well, we’ll see what Texas is actually willing to offer to get Hamels. I see your point, but Barnes, Lee, Schebler and Sweeney are all pretty much ready for the majors. Barnes is one of the top catching prospects in the minors. He had 2 hits yesterday for the Dodgers. Lee is pitching really well in AAA and he’s ready for a promotion. Schebler and Sweeney could probably have been called up by a lot of other organizations by now, but they are caught in a 40 man logjam the Dodgers have at 2B and OF.
I could see the Phillies using all 4 of those guys on the major league roster next season.
It doesnt mattef if they are ready for the majors when they arent long term starters. They are bench players and lee has 4th starter upside with the most likely outcome a 5th starter or swingman.
Totally agree here. Schebler needs to be packaged in there…Phillips in a deal with Houston too. Need to negotiate on the return of the arms, maybe Feliz instead of Appel, but Brett Phillips for sure. Current outfield is terrible, hold a bleak future, and the farm is of bleak too at OF. Quinn could be okay, but Dugan and Altherr, don’t have too much expectations in them. Tocci fits the bill like Quinn unless he fills out… but corner outfielders more of a need instead of 3 CF’s (Herrera, Quinn, Tocci)
I feel like for the Dodgers, it would make more sense to go after Cueto or Price. Could likely be had for less prospects, and while its true their only rentals, the Dodgers are already going to be considered among the favorites to sign them if they choose to pursue them (which I assume they will). Then again, I suppose getting Hamels below market rate is also attractive.
Dodgers need someone they can control for multiple years due to the fact that Greinke probably will opt out of contract. They don’t want to have to fight against the Yankees to resign two of their pitchers in the offseason.
Not necessarily there’s plenty of pitching on the FA market this year. Ryu will most likely be back opening day and McCarthy back around the all-star break. So even if Grienke does opt out they only need one top of the rotation arm (cueto,price, Grienke) and a mid to back end starter. So a rental may not be a terrible idea if it means you can keep these prospects they’re trying to protect
I totally agree. If I were Farhan Friedman I would go after Price, who has consistently dominated in the AL East and AL Central for his entire career. He will be even better in the NL West, where most hitters have not seen him, there is no DH, and he plays his home games in a pitcher friendly park and most of his away games in pitcher friendly NL West parks. Also, he is only 29. Also, the Dodgers are in a much better position than any other franchise to make Price the best offer in free agency and keep him long-term. And just imagine how the Dodgers could dominate lefty-heavy lineups in the playoffs with Kershaw and Price, not to mention Greinke who is also pretty tough on lefties. To get that kind of player without giving up Pederson/Urias/Seager would be a huge win for LA.
Altherr, is a better hitting outfielder than many of those so called Prospects that other teams have.
Altherr has ‘Darin Ruf syndrome.’ He has 1 excellent season and everyone hops on his bandwagon. Hes been on and off since he got drafted, and this could just be an on year. People seem to forget quickly he OPS .686 in AA last year,
Hes kind of a good at everything, great at nothing type.
If I was Houston’s GM, I’d give you Appel or Feliz but not Phillips.
If the Dodgers don’t want to part with both De Leon and Barnes in the same trade, there is no way Holmes would be coming too. Maybe De Leon, Verdugo and Schebler is more realistic.
Come on Man ! Not Second Tier not maybe Prospects.
Jurickson Profar? Would the Phils try their hand on him as Utley’s successor?
1B – Profar – Crawford – Franco future IF?
they drafted a second baseman in round 2 to be chase’s successor, passing up young arms and corner outfield prospects to pick him.
Profar is out for another season, he hasn’t played in 2 years.
Unless Profar is the 2nd or 3rd piece in the package, No way the Phillies do it.
Astros send Mark Appel, Derek Fisher, Joe Musgrove, and Tony Kemp to Philly for Hamels
Phillips, AJ Reed, Fisher (or a pitcher) and Nottingham for Hamels and cash.
no way will the Stros give up all these bats. Appel is better than De Leon …i would think the Astros have a better shot with the farm they have. Vincent V. Singleton. Kemp, others in the mix but no way they give up Phillips. Reed and fisher
if phils can’t dump Howard, they couldnt use his mini-me in Singleton.
i give who ever a thumbs down for thinking De Leon is better than Appel. the 3 stores bats are better than most bats in ANY other farm.
Appel is not better than DeLeon at this point. DeLeon has a better K rate at the same level. Appel seems to have plateau-ed. His numbers have been pretty awful even at Double-A
Do it Big Jeff !
I’m surprised the Cubs aren’t in this discussion.
They probably are but a package along the lines of castro, mckinney and edwards probably isnt what the phils would want
The Phillies don’t need a shortstop, let alone an expensive one who can’t hit.
Hes not expensive and last year put up a 118 wrc. Im not a big fan of his but he can hit.
Chi Chi, Mazara and Alfaro for Hamels
Brett Phillips, Mark Appel and Domingo Santana for Hamels
And on the side of wishful thinking..
De Leon and Puig for Hamels and Papelbon
De leon, lee and schebler is lighter than other package you mentioned and its not even close
Be honest do the dodgers really want to get hamels. Seem like other teams are trying harder to get him then the dodgers. I feel their name link into this just because they been for a while. Why can’t they get a good but cheaper option or finally give Lee a shot
They don’t NEED Hamels, but they do need a starter. They could be targeting a big name starter because they are without Ryu and McCarthy and need someone to be their #2 next year when Greinke leaves.
They went with Hernandez and Corriea last year when they wanted to go with a “cheap option,” and Blanton the year before, none of them turned out well.
Well dodgers won’t damge the farm to get hamels.so I could see a trade for a cheaper option happening.
Personally, I think Scott Kazmir makes the most sense (if the A’s decide to move him)
The Dodgers should deal for Cespedes then trade Puig for Hamels
Not a bad idea but depends who the tiger want
It would take a lot less in prospects to get Cespedes from the Tigers than Hamels from Philly. Cespedes can’t be qualified so the Tigers get nothing if he walks.
Well in that case I would try to get him and have puig be the top prize for hamles with other pieces
You’d need more than just Puig to get Hamels. Include some other good parts to get it done.
That would set up an outfield of Crawford, Joc and Ethier for next season with Guerrero and Turner as platoon options.
You shouldnt need more than puig for hamels unless the phils pay down hamels contract to where its even money.
Then they don’t make the deal.. Phillies need more than 1 piece for a rebuild. Its not about adding 1 great player, its about adding several upside players.
The Phillies need a star player they can market the team around. The players they used to have for that are all old or gone. The money saved can be used to bring in a couple of free agents to speed along the rebuild.
I don’t think there are a lot of top FA players wanting to go to Philly right now. They need to do what the Astros and Cubs did….basically strip it down bare and rebuild the farm system.
Just saying every day player ghat puts up the same war thats 1/4 the price
If they add puig I bet philly would be more willing to take players who aren’t top prospects. Since they aren’t getting seager or urias. Puig would be their best get since brown never really pan out for them. Puig with the right mind set could be a 20\20 guy
Puig is a clubhouse problem and he likely wouldn’t want to play for a last place team. I doubt the Phillies would go for him.
He’s a Cancer ! Phillies are living with Paps ,aren’t going to take another one !
The players on Philly like Papelbon, its the media and fans who dont
Unless the old onwers come back I doubt any good prospects will be traded from the dodgers. This team vaule youth.
well, then, they don’t value winning now with Kershaw, Greinke, and Hamels for the playoff rotation
Good point !
This is getting comical … Listening to teams posturing to the Phillies. I understand both sides have their own objective, but the Dodgers are cracking me up! They don’t want to give up seager, Deleon, their catcher or other top prospect … Come on now, that’s like anyone of us walking into a Porsche dealer and offering 15k for an 85k dollar car…. Lol they may not want to give up the prospects, but you better believe they are going to have to, seriously, thanks for the laugh dodgers FO!
What is funny to me is that Phillies fans thinking they are going to hold a team up for ransom for Hamels.
Reality is, every yr that goes by, the time of control goes down and Hamels’ window of production gets smaller. If the Phils think they are getting bad offers now, do you really think they get better in a year?
Actually, if Hamels declines or gets injured, the offers get significantly less OR stop coming all together.
The Phils can hold out for the world, but its probably prudent to deal Hamels while his value is still high to get max value back. Their rebuild will likely take at least a couple years. How good will Hamels be then, if they stick with him?
Do any Phillies fans think we could trade Utley, Dom Brown, ryan Howard, and David buchanan for Mike Trout? Seems like fair value when compared to all these trade rumors for Hamels….. Though I think the Phillies are giving up way too much to get Trout 🙂
Mark DeRosa thinks that Urias can and should be the centerpiece of a Hamels deal. I hope he’s right, otherwise we will just continue the constant runaround: “Team X wants Cole Hamels but is not willing to give up a top prospect: stalemate.”
Outside of Cole’s last two horrendous starts and a few terrible outings scattered throughout his career, he has otherwise been a model of consistency that is difficult to find at the pitcher position. He has proven himself as a major league ace, has a market value contract, and should therefore net one TOP, headlining prospect along with other pieces.
The Astros could give them Vincent Valasquez , Tony Kemp , and maybe one or 2 of their many outfield prospects for Hamels . Personally I hope they leave Hamels and continue to work with what they have , there are a lot of rough diamonds with time on their side , just because the Stro’s are competing this year doesn’t mean they need to start unloading prospects just yet.
So interesting article that followed this rumor update….. Anyone remember Middlebrooks? Yeah that can’t miss prospect that the redsoxs wouldn’t give up …. well he turned into a turd. So…. this is why you can’t get a pitcher of Cole Hamels caliber without coughing up your top 2 prospects, followed by another 2… or least there is no way it SHOULD happen. If it does, heads are gonna roll as soon as one of those prospects turns into a Middlebrook. Phillies have one of their own in Dom Brown… but at least he made an allstar game. Middlebrooks being sent to the minors just strengthened the Phillies position. And for anyone that thinks Hamels is overpaid, needs to update their MLB going rate for an Ace, … Hint, its close to 30 mil for 7 long years. Stilll think Hamels is overpaid at 23mil for 4 years?
Is that 30 at 7 for a younger arm and not ripping the farm up.Or 23mil at 4 for an older arm AND ripping your farm up..Give me the 30 mil guy