PHILADELPHIA — In the midst of the worst Phillies season in the past decade, the future of Cole Hamels staying in Philadelphia has cast a dark shadow.
Will the Phillies extend the left-hander before the season ends, ship him off to a contender for top prospects or let him walk outright? Fans are hoping for the former, and it’s driving a lot of people crazy right now.
General manager Ruben Amaro squashed rumblings that the Phillies want to trade their left-hander immediately. Amaro feels being able to sign Hamels is realistic as well as still being a contending team for the second half of the season.
“These aren’t things we discuss or talk about in front of other people,” Amaro said, “but our goals are always the same. Our goal is to try to continue to contend this year, to try to win the National League East. If we can’t do that, we want to be a playoff club.
“Our other goal, frankly, is to keep Hamels in our uniform, short term and long term.”
On Sunday, it was reported by CBS’s Jon Heyman that the Phillies called a few teams to let them know that Hamels is on the block and that they would listen to offers for the left-hander for the next month leading up to the trade deadline.
ESPN’s Buster Olney quelled some feelings later Sunday evening, tweeting: “Before the Phillies would ever trade Hamels — and there’s no indication that’s close — they intend to try at least once more to sign him.”
To sum it up, would the Phillies trade Hamels? Possibly. But would they be hasty to do so? Not so much.
Ultimately, they want Hamels to stay and Amaro will make that his top priority. For now, it’s going to be difficult to remain positive until Hamels is signed.
Read the rest of Matt Gelb’s article with more quotes from Amaro.
TTB 