Earlier on Friday, we gave a primer of some of the top prospects the Phillies could receive in a potential Cole Hamels trade. Two of the organizations that we examined (specifically, their farm systems) are the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers. In his latest column, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman is reporting there is some positive momentum with those two teams on the Hamels front:
The Dodgers appear determined to land one top pitcher to join with three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and All-Star Game starter Zack Greinke in a potentially devastating playoff rotation, and one of Hamels or Cueto are most likely to fill that need.
While one AL executive suggested a week ago that the Phillies haven't yet "bent" on their Hamels demands since Andy MacPhail joined their front office to lead them, two other executives, using similar terminology, now say the Phillies have seemed somewhat more "reasonable" in their recent trade talks, and sources suggest there's word of some potential progress with at least the Dodgers and Rangers. Phillies scouts have been dispatched to check out multiple systems, including those of LA and Texas.
Heyman is also reporting the Phillies are at least considering trade packages that don’t include Dodger super prospects Corey Seager and Julio Urias. This makes some sense, as they’re two of the absolute best prospects in baseball and Los Angeles has both a deep farm system and deep pockets to make a proposed deal more palatable for the Phillies.
As for the Rangers, outfielder Nomar Mazara (ESPN’s #6 prospect, Baseball America’s #34 prospect) could be a name to watch out for if talks progress. From the Phillies’ perspective, the other bonus of negotiating with the Dodgers and Rangers is they’re two of the nine teams that don’t require Hamels’ permission in a trade.
In related news, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman tweeted the following about Hamels, which jibes with Jayson Stark estimating that a deal before the deadline is less than 50/50 earlier in the week:
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