MLB Trade Rumors: When Will Cole Hamels Be Dealt by Philadelphia Phillies?
July 3, 2012 by Zak Schmoll
Filed under Fan News
As we all know by now, the Philadelphia Phillies are gauging interest in left-handed pitcher Cole Hamels.
The Phillies are looking for quite a bit in return for the All-Star, as would be expected.
According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, it will take four or five prospects to reel in Hamels, with a particular emphasis on the outfield and, of course, third base.
Cole Hamels has shown that he is one of the top pitchers in baseball this season with a 10-4 record and 3.08 ERA. He is also averaging a strikeout per inning, with 111 of them in total.
Trading for Hamels would obviously be a big deal for any contender, and he could easily make an impact on any playoff race.
However that price tag is incredibly high.
That price tag is so high, in fact, that it could interfere with a deal getting done.
But with the Ubaldo Jimenez trade in somewhat recent memory, teams are willing to part with a lot of prospects for an ace.
However, are the Philadelphia Phillies really ready to admit defeat? The franchise has become very proud over the past few seasons, and it would be very hard to admit that it might be time to rebuild and worry about 2013 and beyond.
With the imminent return of both Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay, the Phillies should not and probably will not make a trade right away. Even though they are gauging interest right now, nothing will happen until the end of July.
There is no way that they admit defeat until all of their guns are firing.
If even that isn’t helping them turn the season around, Hamels could very well be on the move, with a boatload of prospects coming back.
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