MLB Trade Rumors: Texas Rangers Favorites to Trade for Cole Hamels If Available

If the Philadelphia Phillies decide that they're going to trade Cole Hamels, Buster Olney of ESPN reported that many baseball officials believe the Texas Rangers will be the favorite for his services.

What would this type of deal look like?

While the price tag will surely be high, you have to assume that third base prospect Mike Olt will be the centerpiece of the package coming to the Phillies.

MLB.com ranked Olt as the third-best prospect in the Texas system, 34th-best prospect overall in Major League Baseball and the fourth-best prospect at third base at the beginning of the season.

He has been living up to all that praise so far this year. In AA, he is hitting .294 with 22 home runs, 63 RBI and a very impressive .404 on-base percentage.

He seems to be developing into a very well-rounded hitter. As an example, he is hitting .293 against lefties and .295 against righties. His home run production has also been roughly similar with eight against left-handers and 14 against right-handers.

He started showing some of his power last season when he hit 14 home runs in the Carolina league, but given that he already surpassed that total in just the first half of this season, it seems as if he is still developing.

Physically, he seems to be filled out pretty well at 6'2" and 210 pounds. Even though he is larger, his MLB.com prospect profile does report that he is a good defender at third base.

It is much harder to determine what the rest of the package might look like, but this is a great place to start if the Texas Rangers are trying to figure out how they can grab Cole Hamels if the Phillies make him available.

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