Monday, July 28, 2014

Could Cole Hamels be an option for the Cardinals?

Yesterday I posted a list of possible starting pitching trade targets for the Cardinals.  Well, now you can add one more name to the list of possibilities.

According to Jon Paul Morosi, the Phillies have made Cole Hamels available, however, the asking price is said to be very high.

Hamels can block a trade to 20 teams, however, the Cardinals are not one of those 20.  Per Morosi, the Cardinals and Dodgers are the two most likely teams to pursue Hamels.

Hamels could make a lot of sense for the Cardinals, maybe even more so than David Price.  For one thing, he is signed through the 2018 season, with an option for 2019.  Granted, he is owed $22.5 million per season, which is not cheap, but Price would cost at least that much and is only signed through 2015.

Another reason that Hamels makes sense for the Redbirds is that he has spent his entire career in the NL, so there would not be any transition period for him.  He has a career 3.33 ERA and, oh yeah, he's left handed, making him all the more appealing.

One drawback is that Hamels is already 30 years old and the Cardinals would be committed to him through his age 35 season.  However, that may not be an issue for the Cards, as they recently signed Adam Wainwright through his age 37 season.

Another drawback is the cost to acquire him.  It doesn't appear that the Phillies are going to be giving out any kind of discount for Hamels, in case you were thinking his high contract value would warrant such a thing.  Jayson Stark is reporting that the Phillies are asking for every team's top 3 or 4 young players while they are only willing to eat $10 million of the $90 million remaining on his contract.

For the Cardinals, any offer would likely have to include 3 or 4 of the following players: Oscar Taveras, Carlos Martinez, Marco Gonzales, Stephen Piscotty, Alex Reyes, James Ramsey, Rob Kaminsky and/or Tim Cooney.

It will be interesting to see if the Cards make a play for Hamels before the deadline.  Hamels is unlikely to clear waivers, so if the Phillies are serious about moving him, they have 4 days to do so.  The question is whether any team will be willing to pony up the prospects to get him.


3 comments:

  1. Go get him! If Price isn't the answer, a power lefty is a great substitute.

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  2. Go get Hamels!!! No learning curve, power lefty, quality starting pitcher. If Price isn't available or isn't the answer, then a proven starter in his prime makes sense.

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  3. Reports are now saying it would take 4 or 5 top prospects to land Hamels. Obviously, the Phillies know there is a lack of quality starting pitchers on the market and are trying to take advantage of it.

    I just don't see Mo making such a move. Now Lester on the other hand...

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