Ruben Amaro Jr. knows Cole Hamels should have been resigned before the season begun.The two sides have been constantly discussing a contract extension since Christmas but the deal has made as little progress.
Hamels got dinged up by an inconsistent Miami Marlins squad in his first start of the year, but regardless the California native is going to be getting a big payday when a contract is finally inked. Based off his numbers last year Hollywood deserves to be paid like the ace he would be on a lot of other ball clubs.
He didn’t set an opening day deadline for an extension and with the season in motion it’s hard to believe that he is thinking about anything other than his cutter, which was added to his repertoire during preseason. In order for the Phillies to gain his attention the deal must be substantial enough to veer him off of his in-season concentration.
The San Francisco Giants didn’t make Amaro Jr.’s job much easier when they signed Matt Cain through 2017 with a $139.75-million contract. The Giants righty had two less wins than Hamels and a higher ERA, which means the Phils need to at least match the contract that is set to pay Cain $15-million for the 2012 season.
The Phillies don’t have a time table for the negotiations, but if they don’t sign Hollywood to the extension he deserves by the trade deadline don’t expect to see his signature at the bottom of a contract before free agency begins. Should Hamels wait until free agency to sign the Phillies will find themselves in a bidding war for the 28-year-old.
Philadelphia has spent a lot of money on big names as of late, which is the reason may cause some concern in negotiations with the fourteen game winner. Halladay and Lee are under contract to make over $40-million, while Utley, Rollins and Howard combine for $46-million. Victorino’s contract will also expire at the end of the year and he should be looking for about a five year deal to fall back on.
Despite having the second highest team salary in baseball ($174-million), Amaro Jr. is optimistic that a deal can be made that would bring Hollywood back to Philly for a few more seasons. In an interview with MLB.com the Phils’ GM said he could afford to have three $20-million pitchers on his payroll.
If the Phillies wait for Hamels to be a free agent to cut a deal, everyone is going to be throwing money at the lefty. As long as Philadelphia wins the East this year, Hollywood has no reason not to resign. After all who doesn’t want to play for a winning team?
6 years, $144M. GET’ER DONE REUBEN!!! Trade Fat Joe, Dom Brown & Pieces for a good bat aka- David Wright, Michael Young, etc. Have KK the fifth starter until May is ready, bring up Defratus & Aumont, because they can’t be any worse than Herndon & Stutes.
dcar, phillies need a bat, but there will be no trades until the buyers and sellers are established around the time of the trade deadline, its going to be tough until then, that game against the mets was unwatchable, at least the mets wore traditional grey instead of that putrid black
Yeah, I hear ya Jake. That’s the first game in ten years, that I left in the 7th, in which I had ZERO confidence in a comeback. They need BATS, plural & Amaro missed the the boat in the off-season, when he did a piss-poor, $#!T job, making up this team. Plain & simple, & IMHO, it isn’t even debatable.
The longer D Brown plays, the less value he will have and it’s very doublful that he is held in high regard in baseball cirlces since he has failed to sieze any moement over the last 2 Seasons..
Phils have 1 Position of Depth in the miore Leagues, so the question becomes since you have Hallady & lee locked up for the next 3-4 Seasons is to trade Hamels and other players for some Bats and hope the young Pitchers down in the mior leagues can develop and mature within 2 years time.. The Phils still have Blanton,Worley and Kendrick which still gives the Phils a pretty good Starting Rotation for tihs Seaso, but without scoring some runs on a consistent basis, they are not beating anyone and probably won’t even make the Playoffs to utilize their Top Starters..
The other option is trading some of their very good young Pitching Prospects (since D Brown, Polanco, BLanton have very little Value) for some Bats and I think this move would really hinder future Phillie Teams.
The Phils made their own bed and now will have to do whats best for the Phils to give them a chance of winning this year or they would have wasted signing Halladay,Lee & Papelbon to long term deals to begin with…
I hate to even say wit, Hamles being a top Pitcher for the next 4-6 Seasons has little relevance to what this teams needs in 2012 which is Big league Batters who are productive and run producers .. Are the Phils going to throw away the 2012 Season, very unlikley, Are the Phils going to pay Hamels more $$$ on a per year basis with Halladay & Lee withough upsetting the apple cart, very unlikely, the Phils have 1 smart move to make, and that’s trade Hamles for some Bats in return…
I like your thinking here paulman, but you are trading the wrong pitcher
You right Jake, It really needs to be Cliff Lee who gets traded for the Bats..
agreed, the phillies have too much pitching in light of their offensive struggles, they need to trade one of their top arms, not big Roy, and Hamels is the future, Lee is inconsistent, streaky, and he will get you alot in return, the phillies team in 2008 was not even close to this team’s pitching, going in Myers was the ace, he would be the 4th or fifth starter here, probably fifth, re-tool around the break, bring in some bats, even one big one, and you are good to go for another 2-3 seasons at least
Trade Blanton this year & Lee in the off-season, after you resign Cole.
Then you’ll have $$$ to resign Victorino & Pence.