Would the Cubs be willing to pull the trigger on a potential Cole Hamels trade? A team loaded with young talent from top to bottom often times is unwilling to make a major playoff push considering their bright future, then again this is the Cubs. An organization that has not won a championship since 1908 may be more incentivized than ever considering their 107 year World Series drought. Does Chicago have the potential trade chips to satisfy Philadelphia’s high demands in a future Cole Hamels deal? You bet they do.
ESPN’s Jayson Stark has been hearing from other teams that Chicago has made infielders Javier Baez and Starlin Castro available for trade.
Other clubs say the Cubs are dangling Javier Baez and Starlin Castro as the centerpieces of a potential deal. But the Phillies appear no more than lukewarm about either of them. And it’s hard to see how the Cubs could structure an alternate package without trading young players they’d planned to build around, not move.
A trade for Baez and Castro would be tough for the Phillies to pass on considering their bright futures. Baez, 22, is currently blocked by Addison Russell and Castro and will likely have to be moved to ever get a real chance in the majors. Castro on the other hand is having a down season hitting only .240 but is a career .279 hitting with room to improve being only 25. Having three more years of control Hamels is more than just a rental. The Cubs may in fact be getting getting ahead of next winter’s free agency. Nevertheless the time is now for the Phillies to move Hamels, General Manager Ruben Amaro knows he is running out of time.
“This isn’t do-or-die for us,” Amaro told ESPN.com. “In the end, it’s about, ‘What is the return?’ and, ‘Is this the right return?’ If it is, we’ll move forward. And if it’s not we won’t.”
