The Philadelphia Phillies may look at a Cole Hamels trade this season at the deadline and teams like the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, LA Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago white Sox could be options for the pitcher and this comes as the Red Sox remain the favorite, as they have had some major struggles in the rotation this year.
Hamels is the top trade target for teams this season, as he was the top name on the market this offseason when it came to pitching. According to CBS Sports, the Red Sox "remain the favorite" for Hamels, but that could change as the deadline gets closer. Right now the team has a need at starting pitcher and they also have the prospects to make a deal appealing for the Phillies.
The Boston Globe reported earlier in the season that the Red Sox made the last "serious" offer to the Phillies and that could be a starting point once the deadline gets closer. The Red Sox rotation has been struggling all season and Hamels could be the key to getting things stabilized. According to Jon Heyman, the team could use Jackie Bradley, Mookie Betts or Blake Swihart in a deal and they also have outfield prospect Manny Margot.
The Red Sox have already fired their pitching coach and Justin Masterson was placed on the DL with an injury. While those two developments do not mean the team will trade for Hamels, it plays into the fact that they may need some reinforcements come the second half of the season. The rotation looked deep heading into the year with Rick Porcello and others coming in, but now it could be an impediment to the team winning or even making it to the playoffs.
USA Today writes that John Mozeliak from the Cardinals and Ben Cherington from the Red Sox are likely to be aggressive, as both need starting pitching, although for different reasons. The Cardinals just lost ace Adam Wainwright for the season, while the Red Sox pitching has been off to a terrible start. Wade Miley has not been consistent along with Rick Porcello and overall the team has an ERA above five. The Red Sox have a deep farm system and they could look at pulling the trigger for Hamels.
Hamels comes in after having a very strong season in 2014 and he has not had any major injury issues in his career. Hamels had made at least 30 starts in every season apart from his first two years in the majors and he went 9-9 last season with a 2.46 ERA and 198 strikeouts in just over 200 innings. Hamels will be the top trade target at the deadline and teams with injuries likely will be first in line to start talking to Philly.