Mike Missanelli of 97.5 the Fanatic broke the news the other day that Cole Hamels was claimed on waivers by the Chicago Cubs. From the time of the claim, the clubs had 48 hours to work out a trade. That window provded to be too small, as the teams never really did get to work out a trade.
Today, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Phillies have pulled Hamels back from waivers:
The Cubs' waiver claim for Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels didn't result in a trade on Friday, and the Phillies pulled Hamels back from waivers.
A major league source said that Cubs took a longshot chance in making the claim for Hamels, feeling they had nothing to lose and had a chance at ending up with an affordable, No. 1 starter who is owed $90 million from 2015-18, with a $20 million option for 2019.
But the Phillies weren't going to deal Hamels without getting at least a couple top prospects in return, and the Cubs were never close to making that happen.
The Phillies were not able to negotiate with any other team, so the Cubs did not have to outbid anyone else. Still, Sullivan says the Cubs "gave it a shot".
The Chicago Cubs are interested in adding an ace pitcher between now and the offseason, and the Cubs are willing to pay market price for it. The Phillies' best chance to trade Hamels to the prospect-heavy Cubs may have been right now. Once the offseason begins, expect the Cubs to be heavily involved in Max Scherzer and Jon Lester market. If the Cubs land one of those two, the market for Hamels is much smaller.
