It’s been a few days since the San Diego Padres have done anything crazy this winter, so let’s fire up the rumor machine, shall we? The Padres are still in the hunt to acquire Philadelphia Phillies ace Cole Hamels, and according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Padres could end up as the most likely landing spot for Hamels.
But while nothing appears imminent, or even necessarily on the front burner, one executive with another team suggested the Padres may be more likely than some others to land Hamels, based on their decent prospect list and obvious resolve to contend in 2015.
Yet another rival exec suggested the Phillies are looking for a “huge” package in return for Hamels, to the point where that exec questioned whether Philly is committed to trading Hamels as they are telling teams they are, there is still good news for the Padres: trade scenarios most recently discussed with San Diego are said not to have included Wil Myers, one of the three big-time slugging outfielders San Diego already acquired and previously rumored to be involved in the Hamels talks.
Needless to say, if the Padres were acquire Hamels, they’d likely need to tap into their trinity of prospects that remained untouched in the Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, and Justin Upton trades – catcher Austin Hedges, outfielder Hunter Renfroe, and pitcher Matt Wisler. Considering the hard stance that Ruben Amaro has taken when it comes to trading Hamels, I highly doubt that he’d be willing to let him go without getting at least one of those players as part of a package for his 31-year old ace.
Just think about how nicely Hamels would fit in that Padres rotation. San Diego has four solid starters in Andrew Cashner, Odrisamer Despaigne, Ian Kennedy, and Tyson Ross, but adding someone the caliber of Hamels to the top of that rotation immediately transforms it from middle of the pack to arguably a top five quintet in the National League. Combine that rotation with an always solid Padres bullpen and a much-improved offense, and you’re looking at a team that could make a lot of noise in the NL in 2015.
