At the annual Winter Meetings, we saw Jon Lester sign with the Chicago Cubs, and the Boston Red Sox accumulate starting pitchers left and right. Some have argued that the Phillies ran out of suitors. While many argue the Red Sox badly need an ace, the team seems to have cooled on giving up talent to land Phillies starter Cole Hamels. The Red Sox may have some added competition.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes in his Sunday column some teams have been added to the Hamels sweepstakes:
The Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres, and Rangers are interested in Hamels. The sleeper team is the aggressive Astros. The Giants may be in if they can’t get James Shields. The feeling has been that if the Red Sox would pick up Hamels’s 2019 option at $20 million, he would waive his no-trade. The five years remaining on Hamels’s deal would be worth $110 million. Would he want an extension beyond that to OK a trade?
Last year the list to which the Phillies could trade Hamels reportedly included the Dodgers, Padres, Angels, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers. Boston was reportedly added this year.
The San Diego Padres have a new general manager in A.J. Preller, and are going all in on almost everybody. After landing Matt Kemp, expect the Padres to make even more moves to make the team relevant once again. The Phillies were linked to the Rangers many times prior to Hamels' extension. The Astros, who likely continue to be on Hamels' no-trade list, might be a hard sell for Hamels, though they have talent to trade.
