MLB Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, More

It's rare that a baseball team heading into the stretch run wouldn't like to bolster its pitching. And with the parity we've seen this year in MLB, it means more teams than usual will be shopping for extra help in the starting rotation, bullpen or both.   

With the Philadelphia Phillies once more living up to the "proud" tradition of their 1961 squad, which dropped 23 straight, they will figure to be big-time sellers in a seller's market. So expect two pitchers who were both once wildly feted in the City of Brotherly Love to become commodities on the auction block for the rest of July. 

Cole Hamels

Every team in need of pitching dreams about trading for Cole Hamels. He's got a track record as a front-line starter and has pitched very well this year for a terrible team.

However, Hamels has a long-term deal with a no-trade clause. The team the Phillies trade him to is going to be one that has the ability to take on a big contract. And it will have to be a team that Hamels is willing to join.

CBS Sports Insider Jon Heyman reported that it might not be so simple for Philadelphia to move the star pitcher: "Hamels has a list of nine teams to which he can be traded without his approval, and he helped the team by listing a nice mix of big-market teams to go with California teams (he's a San Diego native), and according to someone familiar with the situation, he'd also accept the Red Sox and possibly a few others."

There was regular chatter about a potential trade involving Hamels between the Phillies and the Boston Red Sox going back to the spring. But that was when the Red Sox looked like a retooled contender. After stinking up the North Shore for the first half of the season, their priorities might have switched. 

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

On July 2, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com wrote that a "major league source" reported that the Sox will be looking for "younger pitchers who are under team control beyond just this season. Also per the source, it isn’t likely the Red Sox would be chasing pitchers already owed a substantial chunk of money."

Of course, a lot can change in baseball in a week. With the Red Sox getting hot before the break and nobody running away with the AL East, perhaps the Boston brain trust will make a major move that could carry over into next year. 

Jon Papelbon

Jon Papelbon has been outstanding since coming over to Philadelphia from Boston following the 2011 season. For his four years in Philadelphia, Papelbon has recorded the following stats:

ERA:	2.33
Strikeouts:	247
Walks:	51
WHIP:	1.023
SO/9	9.6

He also has experience doing a victory dance at a celebration parade following a dominant World Series performance. 

So far this year, Paps has put up a 1.60 ERA, a sub-1.0 WHIP and five strikeouts for every free pass issued. A dominant closer can be a huge factor in a short playoff series, so the Phillies should have no shortage of offers for him.

However, the Phillies may be loath to trade away an arm like Papelbon's, and the urge to keep him on the roster might be coming from the top of the Philadelphia organization. On July 8, ESPN's Jayson Stark tweeted: 

Still, it might be overly optimistic to think the Phillies are going to solve their problems in time to get real value out of a 34-year-old closer, even one with a resume like Papelbon has. 

Ben Zobrist

Newsday's David Lennon discussed both the New York Yankees and the New York Mets as potential buyers for the Oakland Athletics' Ben Zobrist. Lennon noted that "a source confirmed Tuesday that Zobrist was indeed the player Sandy Alderson had said he would 'overpay.'"

The Mets have hung tough in a surprisingly open NL East this year and could realistically make a push for the postseason. But their offense has been anemic. Zobrist got off to a slow start this year following an April surgery, but his bat has been on fire lately. Lennon noted that since June his slash line has been a blistering .366/.460/.634.

For the Mets, Zobrist would provide needed offensive production. Across town in the Bronx, his versatility would come in handy for the Yankees. In addition to providing spot starts in the outfield, he'd be an immediate upgrade over Stephen Drew at second base. 

Drew has always made his living with his leather, but this year, his production has dipped below acceptable for a team aiming to make a run deep into the fall. His slash line so far is .179/.254/.375. 

With the Yankees surprisingly at the top of the division heading into the break, a better bat in the middle of the infield would be a welcome addition.