The Philadelphia Phillies may look at a Cole Hamels trade this year and teams like the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, LA Dodgers, Texas Rangers and NY Yankees could be interested in making a move with Ruben Amaro, although it's unlikely anything happens before the season starts.
The Phillies have been entertaining offers for Hamels but they are looking for a strong package of prospects and future talent. According to Hardball Talk, the Red Sox have made a "real" offer to the Phillies for Hamels, but it was of mostly major league players and not prospects, which is why the team turned it down. Amaro said last month that "four teams" have made significant offers for Hamels and that eight teams overall have remained interested over the winter.
According to the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo writes that the Red Sox have made an offer to the Phillies for Hamels, with sources saying that the package did not include "any of their top prospects." Obviously the Phillies are looking for more than just major league players for any deal with Hamels, as they are rebuilding and want some high level prospects. If Hamels is not moved this winter, it's likely that he will be traded over the summer. Hardball Talk notes that the Dodgers, Cardinals and Rangers have also been connected to Hamels.
Hamels is just 31 years old and still has prime years ahead of him. While his contract still has about $100 million over four years and a vesting option, some teams could look at that as a better option over signing a pitcher in free agency. Max Scherzer just got $200 million on the market and teams interested in trying to get Zack Greinke or other players of that caliber on the market could turn to Hamels instead. David Price will also be on the market soon and Hamels could be an option to trade for over signing or acquiring Price this summer.
Hamels had a 2.45 ERA while going 9-9 last season for the Phillies and he had over 200 innings pitched and averaged nearly a strikeout per inning in 2014. The Phillies are rebuilding and are hoping to move his contract, which has $96 million over the next four years. WEEI's Rob Bradford said that sources told him that no deal with the Red Sox is close and that the two sides only had initial discussions about the left hander. The Cardinals could be interested in a deal after having some interest in Scherzer and Jon Lester, while the Dodgers may want some insurance in case Greinke leaves Los Angeles in the near future.
The Padres were interested in a deal before signing James Shields and while they still could be in play for a trade, it's very unlikely that happens. San Diego has been the most active team this offseason, adding Shields along with Justin Upton, Matt Kemp and Wil Myers. Hamels had a strong second half of the season last year and was one of the best pitchers in baseball during that time and while he ended up with fewer than 10 wins overall, that was more about the Phillies than how he pitched.