Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels has had his name mentioned many times in trade rumors. Teammates Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins have also dealt with the same experience.
However, while it has been well-documented Utley and Rollins want to stay in Philadelphia, Hamels' preference hasn't been divulged ... until now. It appears Hamels isn't opposed to being traded, according to USA Today.
"He was neutral when I talked to him,'' Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro said. "Happy to go. I think he wants to win, but he signed his contract, and he plans on honoring the contract, obviously.
"There's no pressure to move him and no necessity to do it, and frankly I'm not dying to move him. If there is an opportunity that is going to make our organization better off, then you have to consider it because we're considering everything.''
A big hurdle to trading Hamels is the current free-agent starting-pitching class, which includes the likes of Max Scherzer, Jon Lester and James Shields, and teams more willing to dole out cash instead of trading top prospects to acquire Hamels. The veteran left-hander also has a no-trade clause, which includes 20 teams on the list.
"You've seen in the last several years that those prospects are highly coveted,'' Amaro said. "It seems like teams are more apt to just spend money, because it's just money. It's not entities that they're giving up as far as players are concerned, or talent. That's kind of the trend we're in.
"It's no secret that the free-agent market will kind of dictate where this thing goes, I think. But at some point the dominoes will start to fall and then we'll see where it takes us."