We were all good and happy last night at reports that the Phillies were offering free agent-to-be Cole Hamels between $142 and $144 million over six years. But this morning on 97.5 the Fanatic, Assistant Program Director and weekend host Joe DeCamara had an interesting take: the face that we are learning of this offer is proof that Cole Hamels will not sign.
DeCamara makes a great point: there are two sides involved in this deal and the information had to leak out from one of them. Now, which side would stand to benefit from letting the public know about negotiations and what the numbers are? The Phillies would stand to benefit from a public relations perspective should the public know these negotations.
Look at it this way: the Phillies state that they want to re-sign Cole Hamels. The Phillies are offering money that would make him the highest-paid Phillies player in history and are offering more than Matt Cain's recent deal. They want fans to know they tried. So, when the time comes that they have to trade Hamels within the next ten days, the fans will know that it was Cole Hamels, not the Phillies that wanted this relationship to go to free agency.
Would the Dodgers like Cole Hamels? "They want Cole Hamels in the worst way", said baseball insider Seth Everett, also of 97.5 the Fanatic this afternoon on Jason Myrtetus' Saturday show. Hamels surely knows this, thanks to fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw's sales pitch at the All Star Game.
The negotiations are also indicative that Hamels plans to leave. "A good agent gets the team to go to a sixth year in March", said Everett. If the Phillies are indeed took until now to go six years, that is a sign that the negotations were never serious all along. Everett believes that Hamels will reject this deal.
So, today's start could be Hamels' last start as a Phillie or his last start as a member of the home team at Citizens Bank Park.
I was very optimistic last night. Today, I am not.
