The Los Angeles Dodgers have emerged as the likely favorites to land Phillies ace Cole Hamels, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN. Philadelphia has had serious discussions about Hamels with at least five other teams – the Rangers, Cubs, Yankees, Giants and Red Sox – but Stark's source says those teams don’t match up as well as Los Angeles (though Texas is close behind).
Momentum is certainly building towards a trade, and offers for Hamels have improved since he threw a no-hitter, according to Fox Sports' Rosenthal.
The one issue for the Dodgers that is holding up the trade is their unwillingness to part with top prospects Corey Seager or Julio Urias, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. There’s a big dropoff between those two and whoever their No. 3 prospect might be (pitcher Jose De Leon?), and Philadelphia wants at least one of those players included in the deal.
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