Giglio: Amaro Should Package Hamels And Harang

By Joe Giglio

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- If the Phillies really do have a process that leads back toward contention, as Ruben Amaro bluntly explained earlier this week, the next two months should be fascinating inside the offices at Citizens Bank Park.

With the trade deadline two months away, it's time for Amaro to reshape the future of the Phillies. If done correctly, any potential blockbuster deal will involved money, prospects and a bit of creativity.

On May 19, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal had this quote from the embattled Amaro: "We have a solution for all the needs, a solution for everybody."

While that's true, trying to complete four or five separate deals involving veterans for prospects isn't the only way the Phillies can land a franchise-changing player over the next couple months. Instead, it's time to look at how one of baseball's smartest front offices held a fire sale last summer.

Last July, Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein shook up the entire trade market by trading his ace and bounce-back veteran in the same deal with the Oakland Athletics.

Instead of shopping star righty Jeff Samardzija to the highest bidder at the deadline, he sold him early, giving the A's a month extra of his arm. Instead of flipping Jason Hammel, a mid-to-back rotation starter having a great year, for a fringe prospect, he solved two rotation needs at once for a team chasing a World Series.

As Cole Hamels and Aaron Harang continue to generate interest from contenders, Amaro should take a page out of Epstein's book.

Prior to the July 5 deal between Oakland and Chicago, then A's prospect Addison Russell was considered untouchable and a future star in the Bay Area. If Epstein had asked for six years of Russell for a less than two of Samardzija, it's likely that A's general manager Billy Beane would have laughed him off the phone. But when Hammel's name was added to the mix, a deal came together.

When you compare the numbers for Samardzija-Hammel to the current marks by Hamels-Harang, it's easy to see why a team like the Dodgers, Red Sox, Rangers or Astros might be enticed to part with a top prospect for a pitching duo.

At time of trade:

Samardzija: 2.83 ERA

Hammel: 2.98 ERA

Right now:

Hamels: 2.98 ERA

Harang: 1.93 ERA

The current Phillies duo has been as good, if not better, than last year's Cubs starters that netted Russell. Furthermore, Hamels is set to be a free agent for years. Samardzija, the prize of last summer's blockbuster, will hit the free-agent market after 2016.

We already know that the Phillies are willing to eat money in potential deals for Ryan Howard and Jonathan Papelbon. That strategy is smart, and can help land a prospect with some promise. But if the organization wants to truly cash in, a special player needs to return this summer.

Could Hamels-Harang land a Corey Seager or Julio Urias from Los Angeles? Would Boston actually consider parting with Mookie Betts or Blake Swihart? Are the suddenly hot Rangers invested enough to part with Joey Gallo or Nomar Mazara? Will the first-place Astros go for it and include Vincent Velasquez or, in quite the twist, former Phillies prospect Domingo Santana?

Last spring, no one thought Russell could be had. Now he's a big cog for the present and future in Chicago.

Get creative, Phillies. That's how to land the next star at Citizens Bank Park.

Joe Giglio is a host on WIP. Find him on Twitter @JoeGiglioSports. Catch Joe's next show on WIP Saturday night at 10PM.