Cole Hamels trade rumors: Phillies want four top prospects
By Bryan Rose
The Philadelphia Phillies aren’t completely opposed to the idea of trading ace pitcher Cole Hamels, but if they do make such a move, they want to essentially deplete your minor league system.
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Talk of trading Cole Hamels has been going on for some time though the Philadelphia Phillies haven’t exactly engaged in it. They’ve listened if somebody has presented an offer, but inquisitive teams have stated that Philadelphia’s asking price is simply too high.
How elevated is it? Well, according to Matt Gelb, not only do the Phillies want three or four top prospects in a Cole Hamels trade, they also don’t want to pay any of his remaining salary.
"That is why the Phillies will want an acquiring team to surrender three or four top prospects and assume the $96 million owed to Hamels. They are in no way motivated to trade the 30-year-old pitcher; Sandberg identified starting pitching as the team’s greatest need moving forward."
Ouch.
The request for three or four top prospects is pretty gnarly enough but to add in that they’d be off the hook for his nasty salary? Granted, the acquiring team would be able to have Cole Hamels under contract for some time so it’s not a rental situation, but that is a ton for any team to give up.
Understandably nobody has come close to matching those demands and that could be why the Philadelphia Phillies made them in the first place.
Clearly, if you want Cole Hamels, you’re going to have to pay a significant price.