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Philadelphia Phillies’ Cole Hamels heading to Texas Rangers?

By Darrell Samuels

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Apr 29, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels (35) looks on in the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

This week word leaked out, across the internet, that the Texas Rangers and the Philadelphia Phillies have had some trade discussions. The primary target being discussed has been centered around Phillies’ left hander Cole Hamels.

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Cole Hamels is 31 years old and has spent his entire MLB career with the only club he has ever known, the Phillies. After 94 innings pitched and 5 wins to his credit, that should be Cy Young winner like statistics with the lowly team at Citizens Bank Park, in Philadelphia. He has also struck out 103 with a 2.96 ERA.

The Phillies do have the lowest winning percentage across the Major Leagues with only 26 wins. Clearly, they are in the early signs of beginning a long and painful rebuild for the fans of Philly! Say what you will about how dreadful the season has gone for Philadelphia, Hamels is a credible starting pitcher, as he is a three-time All-Star representing the National League.

The Rangers are in need of a solid top notch starting pitcher to bolster their rotation. In the middle of March this year, Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish had Tommy John surgery after experiencing soreness in his right triceps. He went to visit sports doctor, Dr. James Andrews. Having the surgery, shut down the entire 2015 season for Darvish. Since losing him, it has been a bit of patch up work from within.

After 71 games, the Rangers have 37 wins to their season. At various points this year the Rangers have lost pitchers Matt Harrison, Martin Perez and Derek Holland. Harrison and Perez have not even thrown a single inning of work yet during the 2015 campaign. Holland only has one inning of work.

The Rangers rotation currently consists of Yovani Gallardo, Colby Lewis, Nick Martinez, Wandy Rodriguez and Chi Chi Gonzalez. If the Rangers are able to add to the depth of the rotation with Hamels, the division could be there for the taking.

The Rangers are in a dogfight for the divisional lead of the competitive American League West. The Houston Astros are turning some heads and leading the division with 42 wins.

As for the Philadelphia Phillies, they are 13 games behind the National League East leading Washington Nationals. They are not going to catch up to the Nats as they are too far behind. They need youngsters and need to go on a full youth movement. If that means paying money from Hamels’ contract, for him to play elsewhere, it has to happen. He has clearly got to go!

The Rangers can fit the youth movement need that the Phillies would want. They have prized catching prospect Jorge Alfaro.If they were able to acquire Alfaro, they could look at moving veteran Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. If the Phillies do handle it properly, they could really grow if they were to also look at moving out Ruiz.

There have been rumors as well that Philadelphia had enquired about the services of Texas Rangers’ pitcher Chi-Chi Gonzalez and third baseman prospect Joey Gallo. Since Gallo’s call to the lights of Globe Life Park in Arlington, he has hit 5 homeruns, driven in 10 RBI’s over 68 at bats. Gallo came up, due to the injury of third baseman Adrian Beltre. With Beltre due back soon, Gallo has been playing in the outfield as well as third base. The Rangers have many veterans on their roster and not enough positions to keep Gallo up in the majors.

It’s not sure what’s going on with the train wreck at Fenway Park with the Boston Red Sox. They are currently occupying the basement of the American League East. The five teams all have their issues that need addressing, within this division, if they have aspirations of competing this fall for a trip to the World Series. If Red Sox Manager John Farrell can turn the roster around and somehow compete with their other divisional opponents, a player like Ruiz could be of interest to provide veteran leadership behind the plate.

The Red Sox have managed to rely on catching prospect Blake Swihart to play nightly. The Red Sox have also lost catchers Christian Vasquez and veteran Ryan Hanigan. This is, of course, just a thought but if the Red Sox are competitive, perhaps they could flip a player like Swihart for the services of Ruiz. Adding a player like Swihart, could go hand in hand with Alfaro for the future of the Phillies’ ball club behind the plate.

The jury is still out if a deal can be made between the Texas Rangers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The thought has to be that whether it’s the Rangers or any other team, acquiring Hamels will cost the team ‘the farm’.

Next: What are the Rangers doing right?

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