Yankees: What would it take to acquire Cole Hamels?

Before we talk about who the Yankees should consider including in a package for Hamels I will say that out of all the starting pitchers potentially available in trade talks he is the best. Fellow lefties Madison Bumgarner and Patrick Corbin aren’t expected to be dealt and Chris Archer and Michael Fulmer are both struggling which should leave Hamels as the most coveted arm on the market.

Hamels is certainly a fit for the Yankees and many other teams, but there are some hurdles that could halt a potential deal to New York. First is his contract which pays him a total of $22.5 million this season along with a $20 million club option for 2019.

Obviously, if the Yankees were to strike a deal with Texas the Rangers would have to eat a large chunk of the remaining money owed to Hamels. With the Yankees desire to stay under the luxury tax the Rangers would probably have to eat anywhere from $8-12 Million for a deal to get done. The Yankees saved up money in the offseason so they would have money to spend on a guy like Hamels, but there’s no way they’ll pay off the rest of his deal themselves.

That’s one thing Hal Steinbrenner has emphasized over the past couple of seasons and that’s not going to change. If this was the Hamels of five years ago the Yankees might be more willing to take on the majority of the remaining money owed to him, but at this point in his career that would be a poor decision. Brian Cashman is smart enough to realize that so don’t expect the Yankees go over that luxury tax threshold in a trade for Hamels or anyone else for that matter.