The search has begun for the four teams that made a real trade offer to the Phillies for Cole Hamels. And according to Nick Cafardo, the Red Sox are one of the four teams.
Ruben Amaro Jr. told Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly last week that as many as eight teams have kicked the tires on Cole Hamels this winter and four of those teams have made offers that showed they are legitimately interested.
The Phillies’ brass is not in a rush to move Hamels and is holding out for a package of a team’s best prospects for the lefty. Hamels is set to begin Spring Training in Clearwater this week and Amaro Jr. is expecting him to take the ball on Opening Day for the Phillies against the Red Sox.
Nick Cafardo indicated in his Sunday notes column that his sources told him Boston was one of the four teams that has made an offer to the Phillies. Cafardo reported the Red Sox offer is believed to be “heavy on the Major League side, trying to avoid giving up any of their top prospects.” Cafardo added the Phillies are insisting on a package of prospects for Hamels and “if they don’t get them now they’ll wait until the trade deadline when there might be more desperation by teams seeking to win.”
It’s believed the Phillies view the Red Sox as the best trading partner for Hamels. Ruben Amaro Jr. and Pat Gillick really like INF/OF Mookie Betts and C Blake Swihart and refuse to talk to about sending Hamels to Boston without one of those two players in the deal.
Rob Bradford provided an update on where the Red Sox stand in the talks for Cole Hamels. According to the report from WEEI.com, the Red Sox “are not remotely close on any sort of trade” for Hamels. The Red Sox have given the Phillies “the parameters of what they are willing to give up for the starter.”
The identities of the other three teams have not been reported by the mainstream media.
According to Jon Paul Morosi, the Cubs and Phillies have had some conversation about Hamels. The Cubs have drawn a “very, very firm line” on not including Kris Bryant or Addison Russell or Jorge Soler in a package for Hamels. Morosi thinks the Cubs might be willing to include Javier Baez in a deal for Hamels. But the Phillies may not be interested in Baez due to the concerns about him making enough contact to be a productive big leaguer.
Based on the information from Jon Paul Morosi, the Cubs have a package of players in mind they would send to the Phillies for Hamels, the same as the Red Sox. As is the case with the Red Sox, there is “not a lot of momentum right now” from the Cubs towards dealing for Cole Hamels.
It’s been reported that Ruben Amaro Jr. has told teams interested in acquiring Cole Hamels that he must win the trade.
Jon Paul Morosi thinks the Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers and possibly the Cardinals have the prospects to satisfy the Phillies’ asking price for Cole Hamels. But the teams that have been linked to Hamels simply do not want to pay the Phillies asking price. Morosi described the negotiations for Hamels as being a starring contest and the Phillies are waiting for a team to blink.
- Full Report from Nick Cafardo
- Full Report from WEEI.com
- Cole Hamels Update: Phillies are Waiting for a Team to Blink (Feb. 15)
- Cole Hamels Update: Four Teams Have Made Real Trade Offers (Feb. 12)