HAMELS LATEST
-The latest comes from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who says via twitter that the Phillies have floated an offer of 6 years, $140 million at Cole Hamels. I’ve heard rumors of anywhere between $130 million and $144 million. The $144 million would represent an additional year added to the contract of Cliff Lee.
Sherman says the likelihood that Hamels will be dealt has increased due to the fact that he has not accepted their latest offer. If the dollar figures are true, then the Phillies have done what they can. Going above $144 million gets sketchy with a pitcher. I’m all for attempting to keep Hamels in the fold, but at what price do you pay? Sherman does make a good point that with Halladay struggling coming off the DL, and of course getting older, that keeping Hamels could be closely tied to that situation.
Would the Phillies be willing to go above and beyond and break through the luxury tax by a fair margin to keep Hamels, knowing Halladay’s decline is real? If he gets to free agency, Sherman says the Dodgers will be salivating.
PENCE RUMORS
–Hunter Pence says today is the first he’s heard of any trade rumors with his name in it. Maybe he’s playing dumb here, but it’s got to be quite the turnaround for him. After Pence’s trade from Houston, he probably imagined he’d stay in Philadelphia for more than a calendar year. That may not be the case.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports says the Phillies are trying to unload Pence. If so, this would represent one of the larger mistakes Amaro has made as GM. They gave up a ton of young talent to acquire him. And while Pence has shown flashes of being a very good player, too often he is undisciplined in many facets of the game.
Also, beyond this year, Pence will just become more and more expensive. The next contract he signs could be in the $15-18 million-per-year range. Is that a wise investment for this team?
The Pirates could make sense as they’ve been looking for a corner outfielder with a little pop.
