Report: Cubs may clear salary in trade before exercising Hamels' option

Cole Hamels may end up back in Chicago next season, but not before the Cubs try to make some room first.

With Friday afternoon's deadline for exercising Hamels' $20-million option looming, the Cubs may try and make a trade to shed salary before retaining him, sources told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Rosenthal added that a long-term deal for Hamels in Chicago appears unlikely at this point, though the Cubs do want to keep him.

The Cubs' current payroll sits a hair over $179 million, presently the highest mark in baseball, according to Spotrac.

Seven Cubs, including Hamels, are set to earn more than $10 million in 2019; many of those players, however, possess some form of no-trade protection. Some of their higher-salaried players who own no-trade clauses include right-hander Yu Darvish, and outfielder Jason Heyward, who can block trades to 12 clubs of his choosing, per Cot's Contracts.

Hamels was acquired by the Cubs from the Texas Rangers in July and was stellar over the final two months of the season. In 12 starts for the North Siders, the 34-year-old posted a 2.36 ERA, 1.100 WHIP, and 74 strikeouts (8.7 per nine innings), while allowing only six home runs. He also threw two shutout innings of relief in the NL wild-card game, which the Cubs ultimately lost to the Colorado Rockies.

Should Chicago opt to decline Hamels' option and send him to free agency, his $6-million buyout would be paid by the Rangers, according to Rosenthal.