MLB Trade Rumors: San Francisco Giants interested in Jason Hammel?

Either before or after the dust settles with major trades for the likes of David Price and Jeff Samardzija, some team out there is going to get a good deal in a trade for Chicago Cubs’ starter Jason Hammel.

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He comes at a much better price on a one-year deal that is up at season’s end. He is arguably having as good a season as either of the other two guys, even if he is not on the level of staff ace that they are.

A number of teams emerge as potential suitors for Hammel, many of them overlapping with the teams interested in Price and Samardzija. He would be a better fit with some than others; a team like the Blue Jays, for example, might be better equipped in terms of the prospects they have available to pursue Hammel.

Another potential suitor is a team that was interested in Hammel as a free agent before the season started. As reported by Jon Morosi of Fox Sports:

The Giants remain a first place team despite the shaky work from certain members of their rotation, especially veteran Ryan Vogelsong. A trade like this would add significant upside to a rotation that already contains Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and Tim Hudson. 

At that point the Giants would be taking their chances with Hammel and former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum in the back of their rotation. They would likely be very happy to gamble on those two to round things out as they try to hold off the Los Angeles Dodgers and return to the playoffs.