Phillies Willing to Pay Some of Cole Hamels Contract to Help a Trade Happen
Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels finally won his first game, yielding just one run over seven innings on Monday versus the Cardinals.
Could that game have been an audition for Hamels for the Cardinals?
While reports are the that Phillies haven't received any trade inquiries on Hamels since late March, the phone line is about to heat up.
“It’s no secret that one team lost an ace and two or three teams have lost very important starters,” Amaro told the USA Today. “Some teams want to move quickly. Other teams want to ride things out. I think all of us would rather do deals only after exhausting their own internal possibilities and go from there.”
The one ace Amaro is referring to is Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, who is done for the season with an Achilles injury. A second pitcher who is done for the season, Brandon McCarthy of the Dodgers, plus Boston and Toronto both could use a top level starter.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently spoke to Cardinals GM John Mozeliak about how the teams plans are after the loss of Wainwright. Goold notes that the team has discussed the possibility of dealing for Hamels in the past but found the asking price unreasonable.
“We are very open-minded,” Amaro told Bob Nightengale of the USA Today. “We’re not afraid to subsidize contracts. We never told a club that we would not absolutely subsidize his contract. That is not a realistic way to do business. If there’s a deal to be made, and we have to subsidize part of it, we’ll do it.”
So what Amaro essentially is saying is, he is willing to play some of Hamels contract to make the right deal happen.
So what is the right deal?
For the Phillies it's been to add multiple top prospects - and now due to some unforeseen circumstances, it looks like Amaro gamble could pay off.
“A few things have lined up in the Phillies’ favor," a rival executive told Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. "There’s a little bit of a crescendo. And now is the time to act.”
Time to act Ruben, your move - what are you going to do?