Thursday, July 17, 2014

Is Cole Hamels Coming To Red Sox Rotation?

Cole Hamels: Coming To An Aging Ballpark Near You?
According to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (AKA John Henry's Journalistic Plaything), the Red Sox may be contemplating a trade for Phillies left-handed ace Cole Hamels. There are four years and $90 million left on Hamels' contract—which is right in the neighborhood the Red Sox are willing to go for a #1 starter. Of course, this begs the question: What do you do with Jon Lester? The logical answers are: 1.) use Hamels as leverage to sign Lester to a more modest deal (very unlikely), 2.) trade him for 2 or 3 prospects and a bat (kind of likely), or 3.) let him walk (most likely). A trade for Hamels would likely require giving up three of Boston's top prospects—but the team has a bunch of organizational redundancy at catcher, shortstop and starting pitcher. Stay tuned!