Phillies rumor mill update
In Ken Rosenthal's latest dispatch for FoxSports.com, he provides us with the latest indication that the expectations harbored by some Phillies fans about a Cole Hamels trade are unrealistic. Rosenthal says that the Rangers are unwilling to trade Mike Olt, Jurickson Profar or Martin Perez for a rental player. Olt is a guy who many fans have targeted as the Phillies' third baseman of the future, and you have to think that Ruben Amaro Jr. would target him as well. The 23-year-old entered Sunday hitting .292/.403/.574 with 22 home runs and 85 strikeouts in 281 at-bats at Double-A Frisco. Only problem is, the Rangers have asked him to play some first base this season, raising the possibility that they find a place for him at the position on the big league level. Conventional wisdom had suggested that Olt was blocked by Adrian Beltre at third and thus could be had in a trade.
Phillies rumor mill update
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
In Ken Rosenthal's latest dispatch for FoxSports.com, he provides us with the latest indication that the expectations harbored by some Phillies fans about a Cole Hamels trade are unrealistic. Rosenthal says that the Rangers are unwilling to trade Mike Olt, Jurickson Profar or Martin Perez for a rental player. Olt is a guy who many fans have targeted as the Phillies' third baseman of the future, and you have to think that Ruben Amaro Jr. would target him as well. The 23-year-old entered Sunday hitting .292/.403/.574 with 22 home runs and 85 strikeouts in 281 at-bats at Double-A Frisco. Only problem is, the Rangers have asked him to play some first base this season, raising the possibility that they find a place for him at the position on the big league level. Conventional wisdom had suggested that Olt was blocked by Adrian Beltre at third and thus could be had in a trade.
The simple truth is that general managers are going to be reluctant to part with a legit prospect at a premium position in exchange for two months of a player, even one who is as good as Hamels. As we noted in our earlier breakdown of the trade deadline, C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee both landed Top 50 prospects, as rated by Baseball America, but both of those prospects were first basemen.
-ESPN's Buster Olney says that the Phillies' asking price for Shane Victorino is "very, very high right now." That isn't atypical of two weeks before the trade deadline. No harm in asking for the moon. In reality, though, the Phillies are probably going to have to settle for an uninspiring package. Take, for example, the Braves' trade for Michael Bourn last year. Atlanta gave up four players, none of which were in Baseball America's Top 100, or even among the organization's top five prospects. Brett Oberholtzer was ranked the ninth prospect in the organization by BA, but he projects as little more than a back-of-the-rotation starter or a middle reliever. Paul Clemens, a 22-year-old righty, might have a little more upside. Again, though, not a top prospect. BA didn't even have him in the Braves' Top 10. The other pieces were Juan Abreu, a reliever with command problems, and Jordan Schafer, who was once a top prospect but has struggled in the majors. And that was for a center fielder who was in the middle of a better season and who had another year left on his contract. If the Phillies can get a piece that can help them out of the bullpen or at the back of the rotation in the next couple seasons, it will be a successful trade.
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@wistahoma - There is no difference between a "cut-off" man and a "relay" man other than the function he performs during the play.— Sam Crow- That was the stupidest comment I've ever read...
There's also no difference between a mailman and a trash man other than the function he performs— drdave - you're dumb — drdave
- Murph, how come you don't get any of these scoops?? Don't rely on Olney and Rosenthal...get to work— hey buddy
- The Phils land a 3B prospect for Hamels. Either Olt(Tex),Castellanos(DeT), or Zack Cox(STl). One of those teams will buckle. Along with a couple mid level prospects. Hamels to Tex + StL is like white powder to a coke addict. 2 teams that have won or on the verge of winning a WS in the last couple years,. The temptation will be too great to pass up.— argonne
- Trade JStroll to Oakland.— wo_fat
- Seemed like everybody was happy when they got Haliday, Oswalt and Pence. Nobody crying about prospects. Now Hamels is the question. It takes 2 parties to make a contract. How do we know what was offered/ask? Cole is a good young pitcher but keep in mind his best season was 15 wins. He makes a yearly trip to the DL. Remember all the nonsense about his back?— Ssteve115
- That is both revisionist history and uninformed. The Oswalt deal was a travesty since the Phillies had Lee under contract for $9.5 million and gave him away. Don't do that and you don't need to overpay for Oswalt. A lot of fans like Pence for some reason, but anyone who follows baseball knows he is a classic good numbers on a bad team guy. I think even Dave Murphy said that Carlos Beltran was the only guy worth going after last year as he would be an October difference maker and a cheap rental. I, and others, were certainly shouting it from the rooftops. I felt like I got punched in the gut after the Pence deal. I felt like I got punched in the face after the Rollins deal. Finally, Hamels hasn't missed a start in 4 years and has a better overall resume at 28-- wins, ERA, K/BB, WHIP, FIP---than any other current pitcher has or had. — jtj06
- That dispatch by Rosenthal mentions the Orioles are interested in Blanton and Juan Pierre.— EL Zorro
- There's no excuse not to sign him; this isn't Minneapolis or Kansas City, and they'll get nearly 4 million fans this year despite being the 6th worst team in all of baseball. If Ruben can't make an offer Hamels will take, he needs to be fired and Monty needs to be run out of town on a rail.— drbob1
- Mark shouldn't it be the other way around? Players are lasting longer now. Ruiz at 33 by far his best year, Chipper having a good year at 40. Halladay among games best in 2010-11 at 33-34. Konerko 36 Tim Hudson 37 Beltre 33 David Ortiz 37 Dempster 35, Buehrle 33. There are many many others. Players know more about taking care of themselves and players big contracts also factor in. There were players in year's past doing well at 33+ but more these days. Mark dont mean to be argumentitive. Im sure you could point out players falling off at 33.— Don w
- If they sign Hamels to a $25 million contract, the Phillies will have $140 millions committed to only 8 players (Ruiz, Rollins, Howard, Pence, Lee, Halladay, Hamels and Papelbon) next year and a lot of them are old and getting injured often. With 35 millions they'll need to pay 17 other players, including a new 3B and CF, maybe a LF, and a reliable bullpen pieces. No a good way to do business. Again, it doesn't look good.— EL Zorro
- Pay Hamels $25 million a year to win 10-15 games? Seems like they could piece together that many wins for a lot cheaper.— SteveS11
