Hamels to Red Sox? Boston would need to offer plenty

PHOENIX - It was inevitable that at some point someone who covers another team was going to ask Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. about the availability of his most coveted player.

A reporter from Boston broke that ice Wednesday, the final day of these general managers meetings. The question was this: How do you think teams weigh the option of going after an elite free-agent pitcher seeking a nine-figure contract, as opposed to a pitcher with a somewhat smaller contract that requires them to also give up prospects?

No names were mentioned, but Amaro knew what the questioner was getting at.

"To sign Lester or to trade for Hamels, you mean?" Amaro asked.

It wasn't exactly what the man from Boston meant, because Jon Lester is not the only free-agent starting pitcher who would satiate the Red Sox's desire for an ace. Still, it makes the mind race to think how dealing Cole Hamels to Boston for three elite prospects would impact the Phillies' attempt to rebuild their fallen franchise.

"I think more than anything else you've seen over the last several years . . . that those prospects are highly coveted," Amaro said. "It seems like teams are more apt to just spend money, because it's just money. That's kind of the trend we're in. At the same time, there's risk with that. You're doling out a lot of money. It's a difficult balance. But the reality of it is: There are not that many elite pitchers out there. So we'll see what happens."

It will not be the last time Amaro fields a question about Hamels. There are likely to be many, many more at the winter meetings next month in San Diego. The Phillies' lone remaining ace (Cliff Lee's elbow issues have stripped him of that status) is owed $96 million over the next four years and even though that's a small fortune it is also a considerably smaller amount than it is likely to cost for a team to sign either Lester or Max Scherzer.

The Red Sox, of course, had Lester and traded him to Oakland in the middle of last season. They do not seem all that eager to meet the financial demands it is going to require to re-sign him, which could make them the team that shows the most interest in Hamels. It's clear they believe they are capable of going from worst to first next season just as they did when they won the World Series in 2013.

More important, the Red Sox appear to be the best trade match if the Phillies decide to move Hamels. The Chicago Cubs also have been mentioned as a possibility, as have the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs, however, do not appear to be in as big a hurry as Boston to proclaim they are World Series contenders. The Dodgers, under new president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, seem inclined to cut some payroll rather than deal prospects for a guy with Hamels' remaining salary.

The Red Sox are so intriguing because they have a surplus of outfielders - a huge need for the Phillies - and their top two prospects, according to Baseball America, are switch-hitting catcher Blake Swihart and lefthanded pitcher Henry Owens. Those two are probably obtainable, but the key for the Phillies might be Mookie Betts, a speedy outfielder who used to be a second baseman.

Betts, after playing extremely well in his first exposure to the big leagues last season, would likely be the guy the Red Sox would least be willing to part with. If Boston would include all three of those guys in a deal for Hamels, however, then the Phillies should even be willing to eat some money to get the deal done.

Amaro made it clear that even though the Phillies are trying to get younger, they are not trying to dump salary.

"The fact of the matter is we know we have some things to do to change things around and that's what we're trying to do," Amaro said. "It's going to be less money driven than talent driven."

Amaro was already on record as saying he is in no hurry to deal Hamels and he reiterated the point Wednesday.

"There's no pressure to move him and no necessity to do it and, frankly, I'm not dying to move him," Amaro said. "If there is an opportunity that is going to make our organization better off, then you have to consider it because we're considering everything."

And what is Hamels thinking?

"He was neutral when I talked to him," Amaro said. "Happy to go? I think he wants to win, but he signed his contract and he plans on honoring the contract."

Hamels' no-trade clause allows him to block deals to 20 teams and reportedly the Red Sox are among those teams. That can change, and if Boston is willing to part with its best prospects, the Phillies would have to make sure it did.

@brookob