MLB Trade Rumors: Philadelphia Phillies “Eager” to Trade Hunter Pence

The Philadelphia Phillies are “eager” to trade Hunter Pence, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

If Pence is truly going to be on the move, the Cole Hamels situation could end up being quite a bit more interesting.

On one hand, trading Pence would be indicative of an oncoming fire sale. The Philadelphia Phillies haven’t had much offense this year, but Pence does have 17 home runs on the year. Trading away a large piece of their offense so far this year would definitely not do very much to help the Phillies compete right now.

If this trade would really indicate a sale, it would make sense that Shane Victorino and Hamels would be on their way out as well. If you’re going to sell one important piece, why not go all the way and worry about dominating next season?

However, there is another reason the Phillies might be trying to trade Pence.

As almost everyone knows, the Phillies are trying desperately to keep Hamels in Philadelphia for quite a bit of time. In order to do that, they obviously need to pay him a ton of money, and they can free up a lot of money by trading Pence.

Again, this move wouldn’t necessarily help the Phillies win this year, but it would definitely help give them the financial flexibility to keep one of their star players in town.

Trading Pence would probably be an unpopular move, but if either one of the reasons I’ve mentioned is true, it does make a lot of sense.

In one week, it will be the trade deadline. A lot is surely going to happen before then.

 

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