For the past couple of years the Philadelphia Phillies have found themselves in a peculiar situation. Their franchise is struggling, while mired a hellish-situation as their core-group is aging with very little to show for in the farm. As the July 31st trade deadline approaches, the 46-59 last place Phillies are looking to deal, and star-pitcher Cole Hamels is the money-maker.
Hamels, 30, is a star-pitcher who would fetch a nice package of young-talent for Philadelphia. On the season he has five-wins and a 2.72 ERA, according to BaseballReference.com.
While many teams would love to get their hands on the lefty, the Phillies are reportedly making it quite difficult to achieve. One rival GM said “they want the world,” as it pertains to what the Phillies are looking to acquire in exchange, according to CBSSports.com.
Hamels’ contract runs through 2018 and has a poultry $105 million remaining. Considering the amount, you’d think the Phillies would want to unload and rebuild, but it seems the direct opposite thought-process is in effect.
One team rumored to be eyeing Hamels is of course the money-backed New York Yankees. Rumors have circulated that Philadelphia is trying to throw Ryan Howard, Jonathon Papelbon or AJ Burnett in the Hamels discussions as well, thus forcing a team to take more salary off the books.
For now we’ll continue to monitor the Hamels’ talks, but it does not seem that general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. will let go of Hamels without a truck-load of young-talent in return.