Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox have made an offer to the Philadelphia Phillies for left-handed pitching stud Cole Hamels, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Boston is looking to improve the front-end of their pitching rotation by making the acquisition, but they’re reluctant to give up promising prospects in a deal for Hamels.

Boston is reportedly one of four teams that has submitted an offer to Philadelphia for Hamels’ services. The San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals had all been linked to Hamels in various reports and rumors. It’s unclear at this time which of them proposed a deal, but three other teams aside from the Red Sox are in the mix, Cafardo reported on Sunday.

Cafardo said the Red Sox offer to the Phillies for their ace was “heavy on the major league side.” In other words, the Red Sox are looking to acquire Hamels without giving up any top-ranked prospects. It had been widely reported that Philadelphia general manager Ruben Amaro wanted promising catching prospect Blake Swihart in a deal for Hamels.

“Suffice it to say, that won’t get you Hamels,” Cafardo added on Boston’s offer. He went on to say that the Phillies are set on getting exactly what they want. If the Phillies don’t get what they want, they’ll be content to wait until the trade deadline to move Hamels.

Amaro told CSN Philly earlier this week that eight teams have been in contact with him regarding Hamels, but that only four of those teams had made “real” offers.

It remains to be seen how the Hamels saga plays out though, if this latest report holds truth, the Red Sox are very unlikely to get what they desire.