FanPost

3 Deals The Phillies Should Consider for Cole Hamels

As we all know, the rebuild has begun in South Philly. J-Roll is gone and Cole Hamels is probably next in line to be dealt. He has been the Phillies most consistent pitcher since he came up from the minors in May of 2006. With Ruben not wanting to give up his stars for too little, I suggest these three deals for Hamels:

Phillies trade Cole Hamels to the Boston Red Sox for Henry Owens, Mookie Betts, Brock Holt, and a PTBNL

Starting with this deal with Boston, its no suprise that Henry Owens is on this list. Being hailed as the next Clayton Kershaw by many analysts and scouts, this is Boston's best pitching prospect and there's no doubt in Ruben's desire for young, controllable starting pitching,

Next is Mookie Betts. He is a natural second basemen who can also play outfield, which is good for how thin our outfield is. If he plays second, Freddy Galvis will take the helm at short and Chase Utley will slide over to first base, effectively ending the Ryan Howard era. If he is not playing second, he can play any outfield spot, which is good if Ruben ends up flipping either Marlon Byrd of Domonic Brown for starting pitching. He can also hit leadoff, which will take a lot of pressure off of Ben Revere to be the catalyst of the offense.

Last is Brock Holt. Many of you may be wondering, why him? I say the Phillies should go after him due to his durability and his status as a utility player. He can play every position except for pitcher and catcher, which will allow Ryno to use him as he likes.

Phillies Trade Cole Hamels, Domonic Brown, and Jonathan Papelbon to the Chicago Cubs for Kris Bryant, Kyle Hendricks, Wellington Castillo and Dan Straily

This may come as a surprise to you, dealing all three of them at once, but in all reality, this might be Ruben's best shot at reducing payroll. Papelbon would go to a team that has his old teammate Jon Lester and has his former GM in Theo Epstein and Hamels would have the comfort of having good talent behind him. This makes sense for the Cubs but how about the Phillies?

Kris Bryant is arguably the best third base prospect in all of baseball. He has great power, hitting 43 homers between AA and AAA. He can also get on base, hitting .295 with a .418 OBP in 70 games at AAA this past season. He can also play right field if Ryno would rather Cody Asche or Maikel Franco at third.

Kyle Hendricks used to be one of the Cubs prized pitching prospects and is still a great, young pitcher who is controllable. Was a AAA all-star last season and hopes to be at least a NO.4 starter.

Wellington Castillo is the would-be successor to Carlos Ruiz. With no real help coming from the minors, Castillo has the bat and the defense to become a solid catcher for the Phillies.

Last but not least is Dan Straily. He is not an overpowering pitcher but he is a very crafty one. He was a very consistent starter in Oakland and was in the bullpen due to crowding of the rotation in Chicago. Look for him to become a NO.5 starter in the Phillies rotation.

Phillies Trade Cole Hamels to the Cleveland Indians for Trevor Bauer, Danny Salazar, Mike Aviles, and Francisco Mejia

This one might surprise you as well, Cleveland needs another arm to help support Corey Kluber at the front of the rotation and the Phillies need arms. Period. Lets break this last one down.

Trevor Bauer is a former 1st round pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was traded to Cleveland in the 3 team deal that sent Shin Soo Choo to Cincinatti. He has struggled with control problems but still has a plus arm and with the right combination of coaching from Cliff Lee, Carlos Ruiz, and Bob McClure, he can become a dominant force.

Danny Salazar is another plus arm that has a lot of potential but he has not had as much major league experience as Bauer has. Look for him to shape into a NO.3 or NO.4 starter for the Phillies

Mike Aviles is a veteran infielder who has played just about anywhere. He has good defense and a contact bat that could help the Phillies bridge the gap between J-Roll and JP Crawford.

Francisco Mejia is a catching prospect that spent last season in Low-A with the Indians. Scouts say he has good defense, a plus arm, and a decent bat. With good catching instructors in our minor leagues, he could turn into something special.

Those are 3 varying choices for a Cole Hamels trade. If you have any suggestions or comments be sure to leave a comment on this article.