Phillies Rumors: Mookie Betts Likely “Untouchable” in Cole Hamels Trade

Yesterday, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote in his Sunday notes column that while the Phillies had reached a temporary impasse in trade talks for left-hander Cole Hamels, they did appear to be getting “more realistic” with their trade demands. This was according an unnamed National League executive.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, who says that he likes the pitching prospects that the Phillies have picked up in recent trades, looked at the chances of Cole Hamels going to a few different teams. The most talked about destination for Cole Hamels has been the seemingly very motivated Red Sox. Rosenthal says that if the two sides are to eventually agree on a deal, it won’t include Mookie Betts.

"The Red Sox are one of the teams that Hamels must approve, but whether they are willing to absorb his contract and part with the necessary prospects remains to be seen. Outfielder Mookie Betts probably is untouchable, but perhaps the Phillies could land a combination of young pitchers and left-side infielders; the Sox are deep in both."

Betts hit .291 with five homeruns and 18 RBIs in 189 at-bats last year, so it isn’t surprising that the Red Sox aren’t willing to part with the 22 year-old center-fielder.

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As I’ve written countless times already this off-season, right-handed pitcher Henry Owens and catcher Blake Swihart are the Red Sox two top prospects. At least one of them one would have to headline a potential trade, and given the front-office’s recent affection with pitching, it would likely be Owens.

Beyond that, left-handed pitchers Eduardo Rodriguez and Brian Johnson, along with third-baseman Rafael Devers could all be pieces that could help front-line a potential return package for Hamels.

Frankly, I like Betts quite a bit, but I’d rather the Phillies go after pitching, infielding and catching in a trade of this magnitude. (Betts did come up as a second-baseman, but is now an outfielder, for the record.) Not that the current Phillies outfield is a good example, but it isn’t that hard to build an outfield. The Phillies built the 2008 outfield out of one home-grown player (Pat Burrell), a Rule-Five draft-pick (Shane Victorino) and a free-agent signing (Jayson Werth). There are always outfielders out there that can be had.

There is rarely good, young starting pitching on the market. It’s extremely hard to find a franchise-caliber catcher, which is easy to forget with how steady Carlos Ruiz has been, but it’s the truth.

As for the idea of adding another third-baseman, such as Devers, it really becomes about bringing back the best possible players. It’s kind of like what the Eagles said they did in the NFL draft before they selected Marcus Smith–you don’t draft or grasp for positions of need, you take back the best talent.

The Phillies do technically have two young third-baseman, but neither are necessarily locks to play at third going forward. Franco, who has an impressive glove, could end up over at first once the Phillies reach a resolution with Ryan Howard. Asche, who doesn’t have an impressive glove, seems destined to eventually be shifted to the outfield. Both are nice, young pieces, but neither have shown nearly enough for the Phillies to not take back a player such as Devers if the opportunity presents itself.

The Red Sox, likely would also have to pick up Cole Hamels contract option for 2019, which is valued at $20 million. With that option, the 31 year-old would have five-years/$110 million remaining on his deal. That would be a bargain to land Hamels at on the free-agent market, but if he was a free-agent, the Red Sox wouldn’t have to part with numerous top prospects to land his services.

While trading for Hamels goes against the building through the farm that the Red Sox have centered around the last few seasons, signing Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez (among others) in their primes doesn’t scream that the team is content with waiting on prospects to return to contention. So we’ll see what the Red Sox ultimately do. After watching the Phillies organization implode the past three years, I wouldn’t dream of doing what the Red Sox have done this off-season. But, I’m not in charge of the Red Sox, and they look like they are a front-line starter away from being a dangerous team in 2015. So why wouldn’t they go all-in for Hamels?