Cole Hamels can be traded to nine teams without consent - MLB

When left-hander Cole Hamels inked a six-year, $144 million contract extension with the Phillies in late July 2012, he was given the right to veto a trade to 20 out of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams.

With the 2014 trade deadline approaching and the last-place Phillies looking like potential sellers, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi have dug up some of the details about Hamels’ no-trade clause, including the nine teams that he can be dealt to without giving his consent …

Cole Hamels can be traded to LAD, LAA, STL, WAS, ATL, NYY, BOS, TEX, SD without his permission, sources tell @Ken_Rosenthal and me.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 8, 2014

Hamels’ no-trade clause allows him to block deals to 20 teams. The aforementioned 9 are not on that list and are free to acquire him.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 8, 2014

Hamels is from Southern California, so not a surprise that he would allow Dodgers, Angels, Padres to acquire him.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 8, 2014

Hamels is under contractual control through 2019 and the big-budget Phillies are obviously hoping to be competitive at some point over the next five seasons, so it’s not close to a certainty that the 30-year-old will be moved. Cliff Lee is 35 years old and only signed through 2015 — making him more likely to be shipped.

Hamels boasts a 2.87 ERA, 1.226 WHIP, and 101/35 K/BB ratio through 100 1/3 innings this season.

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TORONTO — The Blue Jays clinched a postseason berth Thursday without taking the field.

Toronto was assured of an AL wild card berth when the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3.

If Toronto holds its current position as the first of the AL’s three wild cards, the Blue Jays would open a best-of-three wild-card series at Rogers Centre next week.

“These guys are excited to be in this position,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after Wednesday’s 8-3 loss to the New York Yankees. “You’ve got three really good pitchers lined up against a good Boston team, playing at home. So I think it’s more excitement more than it’s nerves or anything. I think the guys are going to come out and be ready to roll on Friday night.”

Toronto became the fourth AL team to clinch a playoff berth, joining division champions Houston, the Yankees and Cleveland. The Astros and Yankees have first-round byes.

The Blue Jays last went to the playoffs in 2020, when they were knocked out with two straight losses to Tampa Bay.

Eight of the 12 berths in the expanded postseason have been clinched: The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis earned division titles, and Atlanta and the New York Mets are assured no worse the wild cards while still competing to win the NL East. The Dodgers have a first-round bye.