Cole Hamels Rumors: Yankees "In the Loop" But Restrained by CBA

The New York Yankees are "in the loop" for Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, but are limited by the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, reports Ken Davidoff of the New York Post.

You shouldn’t expect the Yankees to go as hard after Hamels as they did Lee, and that has nothing to do with Hamels and everything to do with the new collective bargaining agreement.

The CBA, in its first season, discourages all teams generally and the Yankees specifically from making the sort of trade-deadline, headline-grabbing moves that so delighted the late George Steinbrenner.

In addition to no longer offering a compensation pick for the acquisition of an impending free agent, the new CBA raises the luxury tax threshold to $189 million for the 2014 season. If owner Hal Steinbrenner wants to get the team payroll under the limit while retaining Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson, the 28-year-old Hamels is likely off the table.

That does not mean the team is out of the race for the left-hander, but they may not pursue him as tenaciously as they would in other years.

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Should the Yankees acquire Hamels in lieu of re-signing Granderson and/or Cano?

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