If you thought the Cole Hamels trade train stopped at either Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Globe Life Park of Texas and/or Arlington of Rangers Texas-y Stadium or some other godforsaken field that is not Citizens Bank Park, you have a new addition to the list: AT&T Park, San Francisco.
Sources: #SFGiants making strong push for #Phillies’ Hamels. Nearly $50M coming off Giants’ payroll at end of season.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2015
The Phillies won't actually do this, right? They won't trade Hamels to a bitter rival that has already won three World... *cringes* Series... titles in the last five... *cringes* years?
Fake Ken Rosenthal Twitter accounts had this as a done deal, but we can assure you, this is not the case. The last line of Rosenthal's tweet is important to consider, as the Giants have Tim Lincecum and Tim Hudson coming off the books at the end of this season. Jake Peavy's deal ends after the 2016 season, and they are in the market for pitching. Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, and Hamels atop a Giants rotation would be the playoff setup San Francisco is looking for.
That tweet could also be about the Giants trying to drive up the price of their rival Dodgers, who have of course expressed interest in Hamels, too.
The Giants don't seem to have a truly fantastic minor league system. Andrew Susac, a catcher whom the Phillies actually drafted in 2009 but failed to sign, was drafted and signed by the Giants in 2011. He could be a target for the Phillies, but there's just something that seems so punch-me-in-the-face about having to acquire a guy you drafted six years ago.
He is obviously blocked by one Buster Posey. (We don't think the Giants are too interested in giving him up.) Besides Susac, there is pitching talent, as Kyle Crick and Tyler Beede are names that may be dangled. Crick has struggled with control problems this year, while Beede has shown almost no signs of being a strikeout pitcher.
The names aren't all that exciting, and the Phillies have already swung and missed on a trade with the Giants recently, otherwise known as the Hunter Pence deal.
The Giants have the potential space for Hamels, that much is certain. I'm not sure there is any Phillies fan who would like to see him pitching by the Bay, though. As of now, the Giants don't seem to have the prospects to get a deal done. Any deal with the Giants would likely have to include some Major League talent to entice the Phillies. Otherwise, we're probably looking at a 6-for-1 swap if it's just prospects.
In this situation, quantity over quality doesn't seem like such a great idea, but it looks like there's another horse in the Hamels race.