In the past 13 months, the Philadelphia Phillies have acquired the contract of right-hander Roy Oswalt and signed both Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee to rather large deals. They even gave right-hander Joe Blanton a three-year, $24 million deal last January. But the club may have to go one arm further.
Cole Hamels is entering the final year of a three-year contract worth $20.5 million in total, and that will pay him $9.5 million in 2011. The left-hander is not eligible for free agency until ater the 2012 season, but his salaries could get quite high if the club chooses to deal on a year-to-year basis.
Hamels was the club's ace during their World Series run three years ago and bounced back in 2010 after an off year in 2009. He's certainly due and worthy of an extension, but there are a few question at hand. Can the Phillies afford it? And if not, do they move another player or two to make room for Hamels?
Trading Hamels is probably the least likely result, and with the contract of Raul Ibanez coming off the books after '11, GM Ruben Amaro should find a way to keep his southpaw in town in the game's best starting rotation. It's just going to cost him, perhaps a deal very similar to that of Mark Buehrle's current pact of four years and $56 million, with inflation piled on top.
After signing Cliff Lee, there were rumblings that the Phillies were looking for a trade partner to rid themselves of Joe Blanton and free up some money. Blanton is still on the team so it would be safe to assume that the Phillies are still looking to shave off salaries. Look for the Phillies to lock up their homegrown lefty ace and keep intact baseball's best rotation on paper.
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