Rumors roundup: Hamels wants Phillies to deal him to contender

Justin McGuire

Rumors roundup: Hamels wants Phillies to deal him to contender image

Baseball's offseason rumor mill is often more about churning out quantity than quality, so we’ll try our best to help you figure out which rumors are at least based in reality. 

The rumor: Phillies ace Cole Hamels would "love to be traded this winter," according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

The rationale: The Phillies are, well, not good. The team has gone 73-89 each of the past two seasons, and it doesn't appear things are going to turn around any time soon. The long-awaited rebuilding phase is here.

Hamels, who turns 31 next month, is a former World Series MVP who wants to play for a contender again. "The Phillies want to trade him, and, certainly nothing against the city or the loyal fan base, but Hamels would love to help facilitate their franchise makeover," Nightengale reports.

The reality: The Phillies want to trade Hamels, one of the game's top pitchers. Hamels wants to be traded. Plenty of teams are interested.

Despite all that, a deal appears unlikely.

Problem No. 1: Phils GM  Rubén Amaro, Jr. is "looking for at least three top prospects, two that can play right now and another that isn’t far away," Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports.

Problem No. 2: Hamels has four years and $96 million left on his contract.

Teams like the Cubs or Dodgers would love to have Hamels. But signing free agent Jon Lester would cost them money. Signing Max Scherzer would cost them money and a draft pick. Acquiring Hamels would cost them money and three top prospects. Both teams have good farm systems but don't want to deplete them. The Red Sox are on Hamels' no-trade list. The Yankees don't have the prospects. And so on.

Unless Amaro comes down significantly in his demands (or is willing to eat a good bit of Hamels' salary), Hamels will be a Phillie in 2015.

Dodger, Martin reunion?

The rumor: The Dodgers "are looking into bringing back top free agent catcher Russell Martin," CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman reports .

The rationale: The Los Angeles brass loves incumbent backstop A.J. Ellis' defense, but it is mighty concerned about his hitting (.191/.323/.254 with three homers in 93 games). Martin is a good defender who shuts down the running game and offers a huge upgrade offensively (.290/.402/.430, 11 home runs in 2014) over Ellis.

In addition, Martin's work with the Pirates' pitching staff has been a big part of Pittsburgh making back-to-back playoff appearances. That is appealing to a Dodger team that expects to make the postseason every year.

The team may see Ellis as an ideal backup to Martin.

The reality: Martin, the only catcher of any value on the free-agent market, is in demand. The Pirates want him back, the Cubs see him as a major part of taking the next step and the Blue Jays are interested. That means the three-time All-Star is in store for a big pay day. And nobody is in position to pay more than the Dodgers.

Martin got a qualifying offer, which means Los Angeles would sacrifice a draft pick to sign him. But the team has a well-stocked farm system and would likely be willing to take that hit.

If the Dodgers really want to bring Martin back to Chavez Ravine, you have to like their chances of landing him.

Miller wants four years

The rumor: Free-agent reliever Andrew Miller is seeking at least a four-year deal and "isn’t listening to any other offers unless the average annual value is 'astounding,' " Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com reports.

The rationale: Miller, 29, is perhaps the best relief pitcher on the market after a great year for the Red Sox and Orioles (73 games, 2.02 ERA, 1.51 FIP, 14.9 K/9, 4.8 H/9). He followed that with a dominant postseason, allowing just one hit and one walk in 7.1 innings for Baltimore.

And because he was traded midseason, Miller won't cost the signing team a draft pick. David Roberton, the other top free-agent reliever, will.

The reality: Lots of teams are looking for bullpen help (hi, Tigers!) and there isn't a ton of front-line talent available beyond Miller and Robertson. He's a bit of a risk given that he outperformed his career norms in 2014, but many GMs are dreaming of having their own Kelvin Herrera/Wade Davis/Greg Holland combo. Miller would get them one-third of the way there.

Look for Miller to get a four-year deal, probably for something in excess of $30 million.

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Justin McGuire