The Phillies traded Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers for young talent. They dealt Marlon Byrd for the same thing. The most intriguing trade piece the Phillies have still remains in red pinstripes, but for how long? In 2012, the Phils signed Hamels to a six-year, $144 million contact extension, locking up their ace for the coming years in hopes of making more postseason appearances and championship runs. Unofrtunately, that has not gone according to plan and now the Phillies left-hander is stuck, like many others, with a team that is going nowhere but down. There's no doubting Hamels' value and his potential suitors, but his remaining salary may provide some issues for teams looking to acquire the former World Series MVP.
Cole's latest start was not pretty, surrendering a career-worst nine runs on 12 hits in just 3 1/3 innings during the Phillies 15-2 loss in San Francisco late last week. Does the lefty's latest start do anything to diminish his value on the market? Ruben Amaro told the WIP Morning Show that he doesn't think so one bit.
"No, I'm not worried about Cole Hamels and his value," the GM said. "People know what he is. [CSNPhilly.com]
With trade rumors constantly surrounding Cole Hamels, it has to be difficult to always put it in the back of your mind and just pitch. Being on a losing team is one thing, but not getting run support start after start is exhausting. That all came full circle in Hamels' start against the Giants. Amaro echoed Cole's feelings, saying that it isn't easy being where he is right now.
"I think it affected him because he's a sensitive guy. Every person's different. These are human beings, and when their lives are being talked about every single day in rumors, it could affect him.
"I think [Hamels] has handled it extraordinarily well. Under the circumstances, it's not easy being Cole Hamels right now. Even though he's getting paid a whole lot of money, still they're human beings and those things could affect you some." [CSNPhilly.com]
How much longer can Hamels remain level-headed and professional under these circumstances? That is yet to be seen. Right now, the chances of him getting traded are 50/50, with no deals currently in place. Ruben Amaro Jr. has said on multiple occasions that they would have no issues hanging on to Cole, but at this point, having a disgruntled ace getting no run support may not bode well for the demeanor of the clubhouse, assuming it isn't that great already.
Meanwhile, Hamels' rotation mate, Aaron Harang, had been pitching well the first couple of months for the Phillies, but had stumbled recently before hitting the disabled list. According to Amaro, despite Harang's injury, there wasn't much interest in him anyway.
"As far as Aaron Harang is concerned, he had a foot problem and he's dealing with an injury so you can't really trade a guy that's got an injury. Frankly, there was no real market for [Harang] prior to him getting injured.
"I think we have to let some of these things play out and we will. We've had great dialogue with a lot of clubs on several fronts. I would think that we'll be able to get some things done. Whether it's big or small, I think the goal remains the same. That's to try to shoot for as many talented young players that we can to add to our already similar talented club because I think we've got some pretty decent pieces going so far in the big leagues, even though we're playing pretty poorly." [CSNPhilly.com]
The Major League Baseball trade deadline is 17 days away. Time for the Phillies to, as Jonathan Papelbon put it, you-know-what or get off the pot.
