With the trade deadline looming, the Phillies are making their final push to sign Cole Hamels to a contract extension. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has made it clear that the team’s goal is to have the ace pitching in Philadelphia for years to come, and the front office is prepared to make a “substantial offer” to make it happen.
But signing Hamels to a massive extension might not be as necessary as the front office believes.
Should a team with as many holes as the Phillies really be committing more than $25 million a piece to three pitchers next season?
The Phillies are going to have to fill a number of holes in the off-season. They need a left fielder, a third baseman, a centerfielder, a decent fifth starter, and (most of all) a complete overhaul for the bullpen. They’ve already got sizable amounts of money committed to Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Hunter Pence. Paying an additional $25 million to a single player will allow the Phillies to keep their deep rotation, but it will also mean the rest of the team will be as flawed and unbalanced as they are now.
Now, signing Hamels should still be a priority. At 28 years old he still has plenty of great pitching left in him, and the Phillies should do everything they can to find a way to keep him. However, Ruben Amaro must understand that if Hamels stays, either Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee will have to go in order to free up the necessary room on the payroll to properly address the team’s other various problems.
If the Phillies don’t feel like they can move either Halladay or Lee, they shouldn’t break the bank for Hamels. A rotation featuring Halladay, Lee, and Vance Worley as the top three starters is still a quality rotation on paper. While the two former Cy-Young Award winners may be on the decline, they’re still going to be very good next season.
The Phillies have tried to win by stocking their starting rotation with elite talent, and it hasn’t won them a title. It’s time for the front office to divert some of their funds away from the rotation, and put them into improving an inconsistent lineup and one of the league’s worst bullpens.
The rebuild needs to begin, but Hamels needs to be re-signed. Everyone else but Chooch, Hamels, Halladay & Papelbon are expendable. Polanco, Utley & Howard are worthless, in the trade market, so they ain’t going anywhere. If Hamels doesn’t except an offer, get the best you can, otherwise, I’d rather they trade Lee, & use his $$$ on Hamels. BUT they desperately need to get young, & need a 3B, 2B, LF, CF, 2 more starters, to replace Lee/ Hamels & Blanton, an entire BP. We have issues, that aren’t easily rectifiable! THANK YOU AMARO, for your short sightedness, incompetence & idiocy! MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!
I would seriously consider trading Cole before the trade deadline, get the prospects you need in that deal, 3rd base, SS, 2nd, Outfield, Pitching, etc…. and I also would try to trade Jimmy Rollins, and get whatever you can get for Shane Victorino. In the offseason, trade Ryan Howard, and Cliff Lee, and start bringing up some prospects, to grow through fire in the big leagues for the rest of the season.
I would offer Cole Hamels the Richest contract in sports in ups to 28 million/year, for 7 years, $196 million total contract worth, to bring him back to Philadelphia for good.
Trade Hunter Pence back to the Astros, for their Top SS Prospect, whose tearing up Triple A. Sign Michael Bourne to play centerfield. Have my new 3rd Base, and Shortstop prospects, play for the rest of the year, and draft the best player they can get in the draft. Its time to rebuild the franchise. The only person worth being loyal to is Cole Hamels………Clean all these high priced contracts out the door.
Here are a few positions, you NEVER spend big money on:
1B …. the position is stacked with hitters who can’t field..
3rd & 4th starters…. you pay the Ace and the #2 guy but not the others… Hamels soon to be $25m and Blanton at $8m….
this is why the farm system is so important to develop Worley type pitchers to give you innings…
I would keep Hamels, however, I dont think they can afford to because they gave Lee way too much money.. one of them has to go
Hey genius the highest paid player just signed and is a first baseman! Fielder, poljos, texeria,Gonzalez, etc NEVER? wtf are you talking about?
My reaction to the headline here:
Phillies can’t afford 3 aces who don’t perform like aces. They can afford 3 legit aces. IMO signing lee to that deal was a mistake not because of his performance but because of prior injuries. However performance not injuries is his current Issue.
I love the these armchair gms. lee was the most sought after pitcher at the time acquired him the first time. he was also the most highly coveted when we relanded him. taking him away from the little known team in NY. The name eludes me, but I believe they’re neck and neck with us in regards to championships. Anybody that says we pais too much for Lee either is incredibly ignorant or a front-runner looking for shyt to gripe about. as I recall the yankees had a much bigger offer on the table and Lee took less to come here. Now that he’s hit a slump, many of you frauds are trying to re-write his legacy. Though i love hamels, let’s not forget many wanted his azz out of here based on how his pitching Lee’s first time here. Cole was a headcase that whole season and never showed up even up to the WS. Lee carried us. If our bats had showed more balls and the other “ACE” had showed up we’d probably had beat the yanks.
And another thing. Some of you act like pitchers never have highs and lows. Really guys? quite a few premier pitchers hit walls, slumps, only to bounce back. I friggin guarantee you that if either Roy or Cliff were to be offered up before the trade deadline; some team or teams playing much better than we are would be looking for their services.
NEVER? Hmmm interesting….Albert? Tex?gonzo? Prince? And YES Ryan! NEVER? You seem to forget very quickly what he’s done for this team
There is no market for Balnton, Rollins due to their big contracts
CF Victorino will be moved and then the PHils have to decide on moving Hamels (And hope they can resign) or trade Lee (if he waives his no-tracde clause which is not always easy to do) and then use that Lee $$ to lock in Hamels.
I’ve stated since the off-season, that I saw very little possibility of the Phils having Doc, Lee & Hamels on their Roster and earning $20 Million + per Season come 2013.. I just can’t see paying 40% of your Teams Salary on 3 Players and especially after this Season where a 4th/5th Place Finish is very likely..
I would definitely keep Hamels and move Lee if possible but Hamels will bring back more in return due to his age, his career durability and his playoff success
I would like to see C Lee traded to the Cleveland Indians for CF M Brantly and some IF Propects
Then Trade CF S Victorino to the SF Giants for Pitching Prospects (Bullpen in particular)
Call D Brown up when he’s healthy and play him everyday in LF to find out if he can play everyday MLB, Brantley plays CF and PEnce plays RF
IN the Off-season, get a 3B, keep Fontenot for back-up for Utley and keep your fingers crossed that Howard and Utley can return to 80%-85% of what they used to be able to do.. Groom Freddie Galvis at SS and try to move Rollins but I think his cotract will prohbit that from happening..
If Lee won’t accept any Trade due to his Clause, then Ship to the Blue Jays for some of their young prospects and CF C Rasmus..
@mhenski
C’mon man. It’s one thing to rip a guy who ain’t playing well NOW, but you can’t with any credibility rip the contract. There was NOBODY, I mean NOBODY, credible that ripped the Phillies reacquisition of Lee. As a matter matter of fact they were calling it a steal. The Yanks had a better offer on the table. No professional org signs a player with the expectation they won’t play well or live up to the contract. Injuries and slumps are the assumed risk for the owners when the shell out these bucks.
You trade Hamels because there is now an abundance of pitching and a lack of hitters in baseball.You have to develop your picthing and fill in the rest through free agency and trades.I would get rid of polanco,blanton,victorino and pence.If they have to eat alot of the money to trade blanton and polanco so be it.Hopefully they can get the deal from the Rangers and then they can start getting younger.I would sign Bourn and Melky Cabrera in the off season and also trade dominic brown for a quality relief pitcher.
Good Post Mhenski…….Well said brother. No performance with a big contract = BURDEN
Good Post Mhenski!!! Well said Brother. No performance + Big contract = BURDEN
Good Post Mhenski!!! Well said Brother. No performance + Big Contract = BURDEN
Good Post Mhenski!! Well said Brother. No performance + Big Contract = burden
My line up for 2013: 1 CF Bourn 2- 2B Utley 3-RF Melky Cabrera 4-1B Howard 5 C Ruiz 6 LF David Murphy (Hamels trade) 7 3B Mike Olt (Hamels trade)8 SS J-POP
Good Post Mhenski!!! Well said Brother.
philly, I like your thinking, but Rollins ain’t hitting 8th. Also, substitute Lee for Hamels & get Jurickson Profar too, & I’m good.
Cold brew just my opinion. Cliff lee is not my idol like he is to many Philly fans. There is a reason he has bounced around to soo many teams… I root for lee but if I were gm I wouldn’t have signed him to that deal that money could’ve went elsewhere…
And cliff did not take less money to sign in Philly at all. Look up how it went down and if you still think he took less to come here let me know and I will break it down for you.
I root for every Phillies player and the team, I like lee just don’t agree with the move for our team. The only player I don’t like is pence and that is because I have family that played for the Astros and I followed that team very closely and I never cares for his game. I still root for pence though.
Has anyone considered that Lee and Halladay have no trade clauses or atleast they have to approve the trade? I cant believe in thier contracts they dont have that kind of language in thier contracts. Especially Lee since he was traded before and he had many choices before deciding to come back. I would figure he held all the cards and a no trade clause was definetly a stipulation.
Yes they do but most players will waive those no-trade claused if it puts them to a Team in the Playoff hunt and to a City that that they and their families wouldn’t mind playing for.. Many players x-out Toronto for their higher taxes in Canada, many guys x-out NY,Boston, or PHilly because they don’t like the Northeast.. etc,etc… These guys are Professionals and have a lot of $$$ at stake, they will approve most deals if approached the right way..
and Remember, no player (even the ones paid $20 MIllion) want to stay on a Team and Organization if they feel they are not wanted and that’s the reality of the situation…
I think it is extremely premature to think that with some fixes this team that won 102 and playe dexcellent baseball needs to be dismantled. If cole goes for a major league ready stud, you still have lee and doc who will a lot to prove… Now I’d rather have Hamels than EITHER of them but that may not be possible. They got lee and Halliday to make a couple of runs, this year was Murphy’s law. The business or organization isn’t a fan and aren’t going to throw the baby out with the bath water.
With all the bouncing around Cliff Lee did in past years, I think he would never have signed a contract without a no trade clause… Further, I recently read that Cliff Lee’s son has a serious condition and considering the fact that our city has the best childrens hospital in the world, I do not see Cliff ever waiving that clause.