The Phillies are a team in need of a rebuild. One way that teams can rebuild is to trade a player for new pieces and replace that position with a free agent. It is very clear that the Phillies very possibly could trade ace pitcher Cole Hamels. If they do so, would they replace him with another ace right away?
Buried in The Boston Herald today, Michael Silverman mentions the Phillies as a team that some feel will take a look at Scherzer:
The first name that is going to stare them in the face and that they will begin to explore more aggressively than they already have, along with at least 10 other teams, is free agent Max Scherzer.
Besides the Red Sox, the teams who are expected to take a long, serious look at the right-hander are the Yankees, Dodgers, Nationals, Tigers, Phillies, Cardinals, Cubs, White Sox, Giants and Blue Jays, according to industry insiders reached yesterday.
Until now, the Phillies had not been linked to Scherzer in any way.
Why would it make sense for the Phillies to sign Scherzer? If the Phillies trade Hamels, they would receive pieces in return. Then, Hamels would be replaced by Scherzer as the head of the Phillies' pitching staff. So, the end result would be that the Phillies have two or three young players and still have an ace.
One thing that the Phillies have going for them is that they would not need to surrender their first round draft pick to sign Scherzer. Of the teams named by Cafardo, the Tigers (who had Scherzer to begin with), the Cubs, and the Phillies would not have to surrender a first round draft pick to add Scherzer. Though the Phillies will not have to pay the price of a draft pick, Scherzer will not come cheap: Scherzer already reportedly turned down a six-year, $144 million deal from Detroit last season.
Scherzer went 18-5 with a 3.15 ERA in 2014 throwing 220 innings, and performed a tick below Hamels in 2014. Scherzer is seven months younger than Cole Hamels. Additionally, Scherzer is right-handed, something the Phillies do not have in Cliff Lee or other potential ace pitchers down the road.
Would the Phillies do this? I would like to see them take active steps to get younger, while remaining competitive, since that seems to be their concern. One way to do that is trade what you have for prospects, and sign free agents that will pick up the slack. A Hamels trade/Scherzer signing would do that for them. However, I do not thing they have the guts.
