With the 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline rapidly approaching this Friday, the bids to land Cole Hamels' services are once again heating up.
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In what seems like an annual tradition, the Phillies are dangling their ace southpaw, but their constant high demands for a return may lead to another deadline passing without him being moved.
Still, with Philadelphia owning an MLB-worst 37-63 record, this could be the year they finally pull the trigger to send Hamels out of town.
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Hamels, 31, only helped his stock over the weekend as he no-hit the Chicago Cubs and fanned 13 batters. Hamels is 6-7 this season with a 3.64 ERA.
Here are three teams that could be looking to add Hamels to their roster by Friday's deadline:
3) New York Yankees
With their starting pitching having some question marks with age and health, it would make sense for the Yankees to beef up the rotation heading into the dog days of summer.
While general manager Brian Cashman has said publicly he doesn't expect the team to add a big player at the deadline, there were rumors that talks persisted between the two clubs, but the Phillies demanded too much in return.
The Yankees are one of several teams interested in Hamels and they seem destined for the postseason with a 55-42 record and a 6.5-game lead atop the AL East. New York could make a move to shore up its starting five for the remainder of the regular season and possibly into the postseason.
Greinke, Kershaw and Hamels atop the rotation in October is a scary thought.
2) Texas Rangers
The Rangers are said to be one of the front-runners to land the southpaw.
Texas reportedly covets Hamels over any of the upcoming big names in the offseason free agency class due to the fact that in trading for him, he is under team control for the next three years with a vesting option for a fourth campaign.
Hamels is also currently being paid until he is 34 where many of the upcoming free agents will be making big money into their late 30s. The Rangers (47-50) are 7.5 games behind the Los Angeles Angles in the AL West and 4.5 games back in the wild-card hunt, but a move for Hamels could help them for years to come.
1) Los Angeles Dodgers
According to ESPN, the Dodgers are one of the favorites to land Hamels (along with the Rangers) and they even had scouts at his no-hitter against the Cubs on Saturday.
With Los Angeles having lost third starter Hyun-Jin Ryu for the season, it could be gearing up to bring in Hamels to join Cy Young-favorite Zack Greinke and reigning Cy Young and MVP Award winner Clayton Kershaw atop the rotation.
The Dodgers enter Monday with a 56-44 mark and own a one-game lead over the defending champion San Francisco Giants, so adding Hamels will help them in their race and could propel them to their first World Series appearance since winning the Fall Classic in 1988
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