Cole Hamels has been stuck in baseball purgatory, being one of the game’s best pitchers while wallowing away on an uncompetitive Philadelphia Phillies team. For the past few seasons, it has been speculated he might be traded and the left-handed starter finally confirmed he would like to get out of the City of Brotherly Love.
"“I just want to win. That’s all. That’s all any competitor wants. And I know it’s not going to happen here. This isn’t what I expected. It’s not what the Phillies expected, either. But it’s reality.”"
Hamels signed a six-year, $144 million extension in July of 2012, one year removed from the Phillies’ fifth consecutive NL East championship. They had appeared in three of the last four NLCS series, including two trips to the World Series, winning it all in 2008 (Hamels won the MVP award).
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But the Phillies have been anything but competitive since Hamels signed that deal, failing to uphold their side of the promise that they would remain competitive. Meanwhile, the 31-year-old has been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball, pitching to a 3.05 ERA over the last three years but averaging just an 11-10 win-loss record because of the team’s offensive woes (and he won 17 in 2012).
The Phillies have gotten progressively worse, finishing third in the division in 2012, fourth in 2013 and finally dead last in 2014. They have lost 89 games in two consecutive seasons, finishing 23 games back of the division leader in each.
All of this disappointment has come despite having one of the highest payrolls in baseball, thanks to aging, overpaid offensive stars like Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and the oft-injured Chase Utley.
Fortunately for Hamels, the Phillies have finally begun to unload some of their better players, including Rollins who got shipped off to the Los Angeles Dodgers this winter. It’s believed they are actively seeking an opportunity to trade Hamels as well, they just might be a bit pickier about who they receive in return for the reliable ace.
Hamels has a limited no-trade clause in his contract, but it’s doubtful he’d block a trade unless it was to a team he felt put him in a worse position than Philadelphia currently does. The Red Sox have long been the most rumored potential suitor and Hamels told USA Today he would be “all ears” if Boston came calling.
For Boston, it’s just a matter of putting the right players on the table in the deal; the greatest obstacle that has seemingly kept the trade from happening already is Philadelphia’s desire to add one of the Red Sox’s top prospects. As a result, a deal may not happen soon, but if the Red Sox are in contention for a playoff spot by midseason, that may be when they’re more willing to part with one of their highly touted prospects to add Hamels and make a big push for the second half of the season.
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