New York Yankees Trade Rumors: Cole Hamels Trade Still a Possibility?

“If you can’t beat them, you mine as well join them.”

The famous line that must be running through the head of Philadelphia Phillies southpaw Cole Hamels, who is less than 24-hours removed from suffering his latest loss at the hands of the New York Yankees.

Why?

Well according to David Lennon of Newsday, the Yankees are still interested in acquiring the 31-year old ace.

"“Despite the significant cost and commitment, the Yankees aren’t ruling out a run at Hamels, according to a source”, said Lennon. “And just because the rotation’s six spots are currently full with Wednesday’s scheduled addition of Ivan Nova, the Yankees might soon come to the realization they need a major upgrade for a starting staff that entered Tuesday with a 4.42 ERA, ranked 12th in the American League.”"

As we mentioned here at Yanks Go Yard in the past, the cost to acquire Cole Hamels would be incredibly deep in terms of both cash and minor league prospects. Hamels is owed a hefty $86.2 Million through 2018 and Ruben Amaro Jr. has been adamant that a deal for Hamels will have to include the likes of Luis Severino and Aaron Judge.

Interestingly enough, Hal Steinbrenner has mentioned that he’s willing to take on additional salary in order to improve the 2015 New York Yankees, but he won’t do it at the cost of the organizations top prospects.

The Phillies, who are already in rebuilding mode can deal Hamels for not just a package of young talent, but a significant salary dump, which is where the New York Yankees come into play. During last years trade deadline, we saw the Yankees patch a number of holes in their roster without dealing their most coveted prospects because they simply took on a ton of cash.

Those deals, (i.e. the addition of Brandon McCarthy, Chase Headley and Martin Prado) kept a shaky Yankees team relevant in the A.L. East and in a playoff race through the later end of the 2014 season. According to Lennon, that particular series of trades was referred to by Brian Cashman as ‘unique situation’ given the circumstances of that particular team. However, it’s clear that the Yankees have a new trading strategy in which they prefer to take on more salary in expiring contracts rather than parting ways with top prospects for extra years of control in acquired players.

Hamels comes with an annual price tag of $22.5 MM over the next three seasons and an additional $6 MM buyout for his $20 MM player option in 2019. But, the long-time Phillie turns 32 this Winter, and has already hurled a grand total of 1,990.2 innings, which is enough to make any team scratch their head when it comes to the overall health of an aging pitcher.

There has been a ton of speculation that Cole Hamels would want his 2019 player option completely guaranteed if he was to approve a trade that sends him to a team on his no-trade list. Fortunately, this wouldn’t effect the Yankees because they are one of the two American League ball clubs that are on Hamels’ list.

The Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers have been linked to Cole Hamels for quite some time as well.

UPDATE (9:00 AM EST)