Cleveland Indians: Could Cole Hamels be traded to Cleveland in 2018?

Sense of urgency?

Many of the Cleveland Indians’ key players are under control past the 2018 season, but they stand to lose two very important ones to free agency next winter: Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.

Whether Indians fans like it or not, the ramifications of their potential departures include a rapidly closing championship window. Quite simply, the Indians don’t have the success they’ve enjoyed over the last two seasons without Miller and Allen at the back end of the bullpen.

Cleveland can get away with slow-playing the Hot Stove season, but at the deadline they will need to ramp it up a notch as they try to win a World Series before the uncertainty of the future sets in. Nothing would send a more resounding message to the fan base on that front than adding an ace to an already loaded pitching staff.

Addressing the obstacle

I’d be remiss if I didn’t discuss the glaring reason this trade quite possibly will never come to fruition.

Hamels has limited no-trade protection in his contract. When he originally signed the deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, he compiled a list of teams to which he’d accept a trade. That list, as of 2015, did not include the Indians.

Things have changed in the last couple of years, and it’s possible he’d waive his no-trade clause to play for the Cleveland Indians now that they are a legitimate World Series contender. However, at Hamels’ age, it’s likely he would prefer to be moved to a team that promised to pick up his $20-million option for 2019, which the Indians almost certainly will not do.

On the other hand, it’s also possible Hamels would like to re-enter the free agent market next winter. $20 million isn’t easy to walk away from, but at 35, he’ll be running out of time to sign a multi-year deal. He could choose to sign a new contract somewhere for two or three years, with a lower annual average salary but more overall money, and ride it into retirement.

In spite of this potential hold-up, if the situation presents itself, I firmly believe the Indians will take a run at Hamels in July. They’ll have to give up a couple of prospects, take on a chunk of his 2018 salary, and fork over $6 million to buy him out after the season ends.

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But the Cleveland Indians are trying to win a World Series, and if Hamels can help them do that, everything else becomes just a number.