Say hey, baseball: Cole Hamels wants to be traded

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Cole Hamels wants to be traded. The words have come out of the man’s mouth, and have been published online, and while they are not angry, they do come from a player who sees what has to be done. Hamels wants to win, and while the Phillies are rebuilding, while all the teammates he had back when the Phillies were winners are gone, going, or no longer what they once were, Hamels knows it’s not going to happen in Philadelphia. Can you blame him for wanting to go elsewhere?

Hamels is still the key to the Phillies’ future, though, so they can’t just trade him because he’s ready for that change. Hamels is supposed to bring back the major prospects that will help lead the Phillies to their next success: Jonathan Papelbon and Cliff Lee can both bring back some kids, too, but Hamels, with a four-year, $96 million deal that looks that much better after Max Scherzer and Jon Lester signed huge contracts this winter, should bring back the most. That’s why general manager Ruben Amaro reportedly said no to a Padres offer that focused on prospects Hunter Renfroe and Austin Hedges -- that deal is at least one top Padres prospect short, and even then it’s not an obvious yes. It’s why the Phillies were willing to back down on asking for Mookie Betts from the Red Sox, but won’t budge on both Betts and top catching prospect Blake Swihart.

Remember, the Phillies don’t need to trade Hamels even if all they are seeing are underwhelming offers. If they aren’t getting a top prospect or two back for their ace, one of the richest teams in baseball can afford to keep Hamels around in the hopes their rebuild goes quicker than anticipated.

With Hamels speaking up, we move on to a different portion of these trade talks. Has Hamels damaged the Phillies’ negotiating power? Or has his willingness to say he just wants to win and will approve of a trade possibly opened up the market a bit more, since teams like the Red Sox might not need to fear his no-trade clause anymore? The answer probably depends on the team involved, but either way, Hamels probably isn’t going anywhere until this summer at the earliest.