Cole Hamels trade still not final, leads to awkwardness at ballpark

Updated at 12:00 p.m. Friday: The trade is now official.

The corner locker stall long occupied by Cole Hamels remained untouched Thursday afternoon, a day after the Phillies agreed to trade their ace pitcher to the Texas Rangers for five prospects.

Jake Diekman, the hard-throwing reliever also in the deal, arrived to Citizens Bank Park per usual and plopped down in the bullpen at the start of the game.

Such is the awkwardness occasionally involved with the formalities attached to multiplayer trades. The blockbuster trade that will send Hamels to the Rangers is still happening. It's simply taking longer than expected to finalize.

The prolonged wait stems from a delay in exchanging medical records of the eight players involved, according to multiple reports. The commissioner's office also needed to approve the deal because of the reported $9.5 million the Phillies are sending to the Rangers to facilitate the deal.

Hamels' 13-year tenure in the Phillies organization should officially end Friday, the deadline for non-waiver trades.

"I know nothing," interim manager Pete Mackanin said before Thursday's game, a 4-1 Phillies win over the Atlanta Braves. "Everything's TBA. Everything's up in the air. I don't know. The deal is not finalized, I guess. So we're just in a holding pattern, waiting to see what's going to happen."

One thing Mackanin did confirm after the game is that David Buchanan will come up from triple-A Lehigh Valley and start Friday night, sliding into Hamels' spot in the rotation. Hamels, traded for five Rangers minor-leaguers and 29-year-old major-league lefthander Matt Harrison, was not seen at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, though he was technically still on the roster.

"I didn't see him," Mackanin said. "He might have been lurking in the shadows somewhere."

Diekman spent most of the game watching from the bullpen, briefly exiting in the second inning but returning a couple of frames later. The 28-year-old said after the game that he had yet to be told that he was officially traded. He arrived at the ballpark expecting clarity and hours later was told he would pitch only in an emergency situation.

"I mean it sucked," he said in front of his locker. "This could be the last time I walk in here. I mean, I have no idea."

Diekman said he didn't sleep "one bit" Wednesday night.

"I don't know if I feel anything right now," he added. "Until something happens, I'm still here. I'm still a Phillie. I was a Phillie when I woke up. I was a Phillie during the entire game."

Around the clubhouse before the game, players were already accepting the reality of life without Hamels, the franchise's best homegrown pitcher since Robin Roberts. The trade wasn't all that unexpected, after all, following months of speculation.

"The one thing I told Cole [Wednesday], I said, 'Dude, you totally owned your career here in Philadelphia. Ended it with a no-hitter. A World Series. A World Series MVP. I mean you have nothing left to do, man,' " reliever Justin De Fratus said.

"For fans, I'm sure it's going to be a big deal. There's going to some broken-hearted people. But I hope they understand the business side of it and that you do kind of have to take a step back to move forward.

"From what I hear, these prospects we're getting are some big-time guys. So I'm excited to see what they can bring to the table and I wish Cole nothing but the best."

@jakemkaplan