More On A Possible Wil Myers-Cole Hamels Deal

Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote a piece this morning,  discussing among other topics, the talk about the already reported rumor of a Wil Myers for Cole Hamels deal between the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies. While some say absolutely not, generally where there is smoke, there is fire. The Padres have a plethora of outfielders on their current roster, so someone has to get moved. As previously reported here at Friars On Base, the Padres and Seattle Mariners are on the verge of a deal centering on Seth Smith for a minor league pitcher. 

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However, that is only one outfielder, and the Padres aside from Smith, need to move at least two more before Opening Day. Myers, the former AL Rookie of the Year before suffering a wrist injury that derailed his sophomore season, is penciled in as the Padres starting center fielder. But as Sherman reports, the team is not sold on Myers’ ability to play center field every day in the spacious ballpark that is Petco Field. Sherman goes on to add that it would take someone of Myers’ caliber to land Hamels, who is one of the elite left-handed pitchers in all of baseball, and is a San Diego native.

Hamels is still owed a ton of money–$90 million to be exact, not to mention an option year at the end of his current contract, but would give San Diego, if another arm such as Ian Kennedy isn’t included in the deal, a 1-4 starting rotation that could rival any in baseball. If Myers is moved, it opens up the possibility of trying to get a much-needed left-handed bat in the Padres lineup to put in between Matt Kemp and Justin Upton. The Padres are also shopping for an upgrade at shortstop and first base, as the team strengthened their bullpen yesterday by acquiring right-handed pitcher Shawn Kelley from the New York Yankees for minor league reliever Johnny Barbato.