The Philadelphia Phillies may trade Cole Hamels in the coming days, as media reports have the LA Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, NY Yankees, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox interested heading into the trading deadline on Friday.
Hamels is expected to be traded at the deadline and he has been receiving interest from a wide range of teams. Johnny Cueto was traded to the Royals over the weekend and now the radar turns to players like Hamels, Mike Leake and David Price. According to Fox Sports, Ken Rosenthal reports that there is "momentum building" to a trade for Cole Hamels and that teams have started to raise their offers for the pitcher.
ESPN sources report that the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers have emerged as strong suitors for Hamels and that it would be a "surprise" if a deal happened before Tuesday. ESPN lists the Chicago Cubs, Dodgers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants and Cubs as teams that have had recent interest in Hamels. The Phillies have been asking for top prospects in deals for Hamels and teams have been reluctant to put in certain players due to the high salary Hamels has left on his deal.
ESPN reports that the Rangers and Dodgers are considered the favorites for a deal due to the fact that they have deep farm systems and match up better with the Phillies for a trade. The site also reports that the Rangers, Dodgers, Astros, Blue Jays and Yankees had scouts at the game when Hamels threw a no-hitter against the Cubs. Hamels has a contract that is signed through 2018 and he will be making over $20 million per season.
Hamels has been strong this season overall and after dealing with some struggles in July, he is now 6-7 with a 3.64 ERA. Hamels had 13 strikeouts against the Cubs in the no hitter and that could be his last start with the Phillies. Hamels has been getting interest from numerous teams this season and now things could be really heating up after Hamels threw a no-hitter. The Boston Red Sox, NY Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Rangers all have had interest in Hamels this season. Teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles have also had interest in Hamels earlier in the season.
The Houston Astros were mentioned as a team that could go after Hamels, but they are out of the mix after trading for Scott Kazmir. The Dodgers and Rangers are considered the favorites for the Philadelphia Phillies if they trade the pitcher. Hamels has been shopped since last year, but the Phillies have been waiting patiently to make their move. After seeing what the Reds got for Cueto, the Phillies feel they are in strong position to get a good package for Hamels. Cueto is a rental, but the Royals gave up former first round pick Brandon Finnegan and two well-regarded prospects in the deal.
