Categories: News

Cole Hamels talks about potentially returning to Phillies one day

With the Phillies in Arlington, Tuesday was time for the Philadelphia media to check in on old friend Cole Hamels.

Sadly, Hamels is out with an abdominal injury, sidelining him for at least the next month. But the guy who went 114-90 with a 3.30 ERA, 1,844 strikeouts and 492 walks lifetime with the Phillies (and currently has 138 wins, a 3.31 ERA and 2,137 strikeouts for his 12-year career), hasn’t ruled out seeing the Phillies sooner than later.

“I never leave the door closed,” Hamels said about rejoining the Phils one day in a Matt Gelb article at Philly.com. “It’s a special place and will continue to be a special place. There’s always those opportunities.”

Hamels is potentially a free agent after 2018, but there’s a $20 million team option the Rangers could exercise for 2019.

Maybe he’s the guy the Phils add in 2019 to put the rotation over the top. Or maybe they get him in a trade next mid-season, when the Phils are making a charge for first place. You never know.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.