The MLB season is a month away and in 2015 some of the players that are likely to come up in trade rumors include Cole Hamels, David Price, Jordan Zimmermann, Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg, as many of those names are heading into free agency and if extensions don't get done, they will be targets for teams at the trading deadline.
Cole Hamels has come up the most of any of those players this offseason, as he has been connected to the Boston Red Sox, NY Yankees and LA Dodgers. Hamels is likely to get traded at some point, as the Phillies are not likely contending this year and that makes him an attractive target. Hamels has four years and nearly $100 million left on his deal and he should be the hot name at the deadline if the Phillies don't trade him before that.
Davis Price was acquired by the Detroit Tigers last season and if he doesn't reach an extension with
The Tigers let Max Scherzer go and one reason was the fact that he was about to hit free agency and he ended up leaving for the Nationals. Price now could sign an extension, but if he is intent on hitting the market, the Tigers could look at dealing him at the deadline depending on how the season is going.
Hamels has been mentioned in trade rumors all offseason and if he is not traded by the start of the season, it looks like he will be moved at some point this year. Ruben Amaro has spoken openly about the deals the team has received for Hamels, stating that between four and eight teams have been in contact with the Phillies over the past couple months.
Dave Schoenfield at the Sweetspot blog on ESPN writes that the Blue Jays should look at trading for Cole Hamels after the Marcus Stroman injury, as he was expected to be one of the five starters in the rotation. Schoenfield writes that Stroman could have come in to take over for R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle as the anchor of the rotation with those players getting older, but now that isn't in the cards. Drew Hutchison is in the rotation and now the team will likely push Daniel Norris and other prospects to try and win it.
Hamels is just 31 years old and is coming off of one of his best seasons as a professional, putting up a 2.46 ERA despite playing for a bad team. Hamels was 9-9 and went for over 200 innings while averaging nearly a strikeout per inning this year. Hamels said that he is "just as eager" as the Phillies to move on, as they are in a rebuilding phase right now. Hamels still has four years on his contract for $96 million and some teams may not want to take on all of that money.
Earlier in February, CSN Philly reported that at least four teams have made "real offers" for Hamels and so far none have been good enough for Amaro. The team is looking for a package full of prospects and is not as interested in major league players, which is why the Phillies rejected the last offer from the Red Sox. Hamels still has years of prime ahead of him and if he is not traded before the season, there is a good chance that he is dealt at the deadline this summer.
