Cole Hamels Trade Rumors: Latest News and Speculation on Phillies Pitcher

The Philadelphia Phillies aren’t hiding their interest in trying to find a trade partner for Cole Hamels. As a result, the only question may be when he gets moved rather than if a deal will happen.

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Phillies GM Discusses Situation

Wednesday, April 29

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox are among the potential suitors for Hamels. General manager Ruben Amaro told the outlet he knows finding the right move might take awhile, though.

“I understand that teams go through the first month of the season trying to access what their needs are and what they have internally,” Amaro said. “Some clubs will be all hellbent on contending. Other teams will be trying to decide whether they’re contenders or not. We understand that takes time.”

Hamels has been one of the most durable, effective starting pitchers in baseball over the past decade.

The 31-year-old left-hander owns a career 3.27 ERA and 1.14 WHIP over 280 games. He’s struck out 8.5 batters per nine innings pitched. And he has made at least 28 starts in eight consecutive seasons dating back to 2007.

Philadelphia is not a team built to contend in the short term. The window for its aging roster has passed, and the time to rebuild has come. If there was any doubt about going down that road, it was erased during the club’s 8-13 start.

Hamels is probably the most valuable piece of the remaining core. Getting the biggest possible return for him is essential to a successful retooling process. That’s why Amaro sounds willing to wait until the right package of young MLB players and future prospects comes along.

How long the process will take and whether any other trade partners will emerge is a mystery. That said, Hamels is definitely a pitcher with the ability to reshape the World Series picture if he moves.  

 

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