Heyman: Swihart or Betts Should be ‘Fair Game’ in a Hamels Trade

The Red Sox' recent signing of Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada has made it even more apparent that the franchise has overwhelming depth at the infield and outfield positions.

Phillies' ace Cole Hamels, 31, has been linked to Boston as a possible trade destination throughout the entire offseason, as they seek to bolster their rotation which currently features Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Joe Kelly, Wade Miley and Justin Masterson.

If both sides cannot reach an agreement on a deal involving the 2008 World Series MVP, perhaps Cliff Lee, 36, could be considered next. CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman speculates this possibility, however an official from the team has reportedly called such potential trade a 'long shot'.

Depending on the health and early performance of Lee, who is said to look superb so far in spring as he returns from his injury-racked 2014 season, he could make sense for Boston since his backloaded contract should preclude any thought of someone such as Swihart or Betts being in the trade picture.

The Phillies have acquired an abundance of young pitching talent in recent trades, especially in those involving perennial shortstop Jimmy Rollins and outfielder Marlon Byrd. Both players accounted for 23.9% of the team's runs-batted-in total for the 2014 season.

With the Phillies' core getting another year older as the 2015 season fast approaches, and with the belief that offense will be a scarcity this season, it's time for Ruben Amaro Jr. to bring in young hitting prospects as well.

Wednesday morning on Twitter, Heyman agreed with this notion:

hear complaints amaro seeks too much for hamels. but agree here with RAJ, swihart or betts should be fair game. #phils

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) February 25, 2015

In a later tweet, Heyman added:

with phils acquiring pitching in rollins/byrd deals & OK on arms front, they'd prefer to get back top hitting prospects

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) February 25, 2015

Player Profile

Blake Swihart

Mookie Betts

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The Phillies have made it very apparent that they will not trade Hamels, nor any other player for that matter, just to trade them. They seek a fair trade for both sides, and surely have the assets to eat salary if that's what it would take to land a top prospect in Swihart or Betts from Boston.

Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is a contributor to Philliedelphia.com.