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Phillies Rumors: Cole Hamels Trade Rumor Thread

By Tim Kelly

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Will the Phillies trade Cole Hamels?

The MLB non-waiver trading deadline will pass this Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. eastern, with the Philadelphia Phillies considered to be one of the teams most worth watching. Among other candidates, Cole Hamels, coming off of his first career no-hitter, is expected to be dealt before the deadline. The Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and the Houston Astros have been rumored to be interested in Hamels, making it seem like he has a long line of suitors and will end up with one of them by the end of the week.

But on the ESPN Baseball Tonight Podcast, Jayson Stark joined Buster Olney and cautioned fans not to be so sure that Hamels won’t still be with the Phillies this weekend.

"Our friend Jerry Crasnick reported last night that the Houston Astros were making a late push on him (Cole Hamels) and I confirmed that that’s true.Buster, here’s why that can’t happen: I have heard for weeks and heard that that the Astros have been told for weeks that Cole Hamels wouldn’t go there. There are only two teams on his no-trade list where he would agree to go to the American League–one is the New York Yankees and the other is the Texas Rangers. And it sure sounded like he was pretty adamant about not wanting to go to Houston, even if they guaranteed the (2019) option year.So, I don’t think this can happen for that reason. And if it doesn’t, then that brings us right back to where we were 48 hours ago, where (you have) Texas, the Dodgers and on the outskirts of this, the Cubs."

Olney agreed with Stark’s take, and suggested that there was pressure on the Phillies to get this deal done by Friday’s non-waiver trade deadline. Stark said Olney’s assessment was correct:

"They clearly are (pushing to get the deal done). You know, it’s interesting. And there was some stuff out there on Sunday that said “Oh, since his no-hitter business has picked up, momentum is building.”All I know is that in the last 24 hours, Ruben Amaro has been calling around to some of these teams on the peripheries saying “you’re still in this, do you want to up your ante? Would you put this guy in a deal (talking about players these teams have repeatedly said no on)?”And that suggests to me that even at this late date their still not happy with their offers and they’re trying to stoke this fire.Because of that, as hard as they’re pushing, I still think there’s maybe only a 75 percent chance that they get him traded."

Stark would go on to discuss the idea of Hamels saying no to going to the Astros, who could potentially provide the best trade return, and the trio of Amaro, Andy MacPhail and Pat Gillick wondering if they should accept a worse offer for their ace.

It is worth noting, that 75 percent is still a pretty good chance. Stark was on Mike and Mike this morning, and despite what he said on the podcast, admitted that he thinks Hamels will end up in Texas. Stark does point out that him being dealt isn’t a slam dunk, however, which should be taken into account.

Update 12:30 p.m. 

Starks says the Phillies want teams to deliver their best offers by tomorrow. That would give them ample time to make a choice before Hamels’ next scheduled start on Thursday night.

"The Philadelphia Phillies have told several teams interested in acquiring Cole Hamels that they’d like to get their “best” offers by Wednesday, sources told ESPN.com.The team would then make a decision about where — and whether — to trade him."

Update 12:36 p.m. 

Moments after Stark’s report that the Phillies were asking potential suitors for the last offer on Cole Hamels by Wednesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today provided insight to the intentions of one of the team’s that has been linked to the left-hander for quite some time.

Joel Sherman of MLB Network then all but eliminated one of the aforementioned starters the Dodgers appear hard-pressed to acquire.

Should David Price not hit the market, Hamels would be the clear-cut top trade target as far as starting pitchers go. The Dodgers, amongst other teams, and any level of desperation can only drive up the potential return going the Phillies way.

Update 3:14 p.m.

One “American League official” told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Phillies could try to back Hamels into a corner, so to speak, and call his bluff on not wanting to go to the Astros.

"An official for an AL team said: “The Astros are definitely talking to the Phillies. Will he go there? I don’t know.”An NL executive said he thinks the Astros will try to make the best offer and have Phillies brass give a “stay here or go to Houston” ultimatum to Hamels – and the veteran starter has strongly indicated he wants out."

Next: Giants 'Making Strong Push' for Cole Hamels

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