Phillies Trade Rumors: Cole Hamels Return to Philadelphia 'Possible'

Could Cole Hamels return to the Philadelphia Phillies?

According to Jon Heyman of Fancred, it's possible: 

Jim Bowden of The Athletic added that "contending teams" were scouting Hamels during his start on Sunday, while Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News believes the Phillies, Atlanta Brave and Seattle Mariners are three teams to watch in the potential Hamels sweepstakes. 

Hamels isn't letting the continued trade talk bother him, however.

"The really good ones, when they cross those white lines, the rest of the day seems to get shut out," Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister said, per Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram. "There are things on the outside that swirl around that can distract these guys, and the one thing they get really good at is shutting that out until it's appropriate to think about it. I don't think the whole trade talk is any different."

He is a bit annoyed by all the questions, however.

"It's not a big deal," Hamels said of the trade chatter. "It's out of my control. I have to go out and pitch, and hopefully that's the last time I have to answer that question."

The 34-year-old Hamels is not the same pitcher the Phillies traded to the Rangers in the 2015 season. This year, he's 4-7 with a 4.05 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 104 strikeouts in 102.1 innings. The Phillies traded a three-time All-Star and the 2008 World Series MVP, and Hamels helped the Rangers reach the American League Division Series in 2015 and 2016. 

His ERA has stayed above 4.00 the past two seasons, though Hamels has missed bats at a far better rate this season (9.1 strikeouts per nine innings) than he did a year ago (6.4 SO9).

A reunion in Philadelphia would make sense from a nostalgia perspective, depending on the cost, but it's also fair to question who Hamels would displace in a fairly solid rotation that includes Aaron Nola, Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin, Nick Pivetta and Vince Velasquez (once he returns from the disabled list).

Nola and Arrieta aren't going to lose their spots in the rotation anytime soon. And as Ethan Witte of The Good Phight wrote of the other three, Hamels is "striking out fewer batters than any of them, allowing more home runs than any of them and, according to DRA, doesn't deserve anything approaching his actual ERA."

Unless the Phillies don't love Eflin, Pivetta or Velasquez as starters, it's hard to see where Hamels would fit into the rotation.