Jack Merlino
Ever since the Royals and Giants wrapped up the World Series last October, it's seemed that Cole Hamels' name was mentioned as a possible trade candidate with about a third of Major League teams. Lots make sense, like the Blue Jays or the Dodgers. Others, currently, not so much, like the Red Sox or the Padres. However, we've all seen surprise teams come out of the fold and snatch trade-victory from the jaws of...umm...other teams. Here are three possibilities.
1. Pittsburgh Pirates
I'm not sure the Bucs have once been connected with Hamels other than in broad discussions of teams that could look to make a splash at the deadline. Pittsburgh could use this deal to try to put itself over the top in a division that features the perennial contender Cardinals and the surprising Cubs, two clubs who've already been mentioned to a high degree as viable trade partners for Philly.
The Pirates have a great amount of depth in their system both in pitching and hitting, and have had major recent success in seeing their homegrown players contributing on the MLB team. The problem isn't so much the talent; it's the literal price. Hamels is owed just over $75 million for the remainder of his contract. The Pirates, as a good team in a small market, are the antonym of the Phillies. Ruben Amaro Jr. would have to kick in a large amount of money, especially if he hopes to get a premium prospect package in return.
Amaro would be right to ask for 2 out of the 3 of Tyler Glasnow (SP), Josh Bell (1B), and Austin Meadows (OF). Jameson Taillon (SP) would've been a centerpiece, but he's missed what'll end up being close to two years after Tommy John Surgery and a hernia injury. He would be acceptable as the throw-in to complete the deal, though.
2. Minnesota Twins
This would be an absolute mind-blower, but it isn't irrelevant, which pretty much sums up the Twins' season. Despite being bottom-feeders since a pair of early playoff exits in 2009 and 2010, the Twins surprised everyone this year by surging out of the gate, serving as the AL Central leader for the first couple of months before losing the lead to the Kansas City Royals. As of today, they still remain in 2nd place in the division, a healthy 10 games over .500 and the #1 AL wild card spot.
Byron Buxton, who topped nearly every prospect list for the past two years and is now part of the Twins' everyday lineup, won't even be humored as part of a deal. Miguel Sano then would need to be the centerpiece. He's already off to a good start in Minnesota, so the Twins would have to be confident in the rest of their lineup and the idea that they would net more value from having Hamels instead. Losing Sano would create a void at DH, so the Phils could ACTUALLY see themselves in a rare situation where a team could use Ryan Howard. Of course, small-market-catch again, the Phils would likely need to eat the entire contract.
After Sano, Ruben could go after Alex Meyer or Jose Berrios. Meyer has the stuff but few results, and Berrios has the results with less stuff. It's a toss-up. An intriguing name to finish the deal would be Nick Burdi. He's got a fastball that can reach over 100 mph with a plus slider. Control is the only question. Sound familiar? Acquiring Burdi would give Philly another likely closer in the making, and make another certain cheap, shutdown reliever in Philadelphia expendable.
They're similar to the Pirates in that they would need the Phils to kick in probably more than half of Hamels' remaining contract to make this deal happen.
3. San Francisco Giants
The Giants would be a much more serious contender, if only they had some pitching. When did you think you'd ever hear that sentence? Yes, for the first time it seems since they became a contender again at the start of the 2010's, San Fran is short on pitching due to the career regressions of Tim Lincecum and Tim Hudson. Jake Peavy and Matt Cain have been injured. Ryan Vogelsong is Ryan Vogelsong. Basically, after staff ace Madison Bumgarner and rookie Chris Heston, there's little to take advantage of the pitcher's park that is AT&T Stadium.
Cole Hamels would actually make a pretty solid fit. Given how hard the Giants pursued Jon Lester and Pablo Sandoval this past offseason, money is apparently no issue, so the Phils would have to eat less money than if they were dealing with Pittsburgh or Minnesota. The question is the return in prospects. The Giants, as one San Francisco blog put it, have "no 'A' prospects." That would mean that if there was any chance of a deal being made, Amaro would have to be raiding San Fran's top-10 list like a 1700's pirate. You could go through and probably choose five of them, and nothing less than that would get anything accomplished. Take heed though, that would be eerily reminiscent of the way Amaro fleeced Cleveland to get Cliff Lee. How fitting would it be if the last trade he made as GM was a mirror of the first?
So there you have it. Those three teams, while they shouldn't be seen as the Dodgers or Astros or Yankees, all could have legitimate claims to Cole Hamels' heart. We'll just have to wait and see.
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