Phillies have not yet made their offer to Hamels
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Phillies have not yet made their offer to Hamels
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
LOS ANGELES -- John Boggs, the San Diego-based agent for Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, had lunch with his client here in Southern California Monday, but he had no plans to meet with club officials during the team's three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Boggs, in fact, was flying to Boston Tuesday.
That does not mean on-going negotiations between the Phillies and Boggs have broken down. As the agent pointed out, in this age of technology, face-to-face meetings are nice but not entirely necessary.
With the July 31 trade deadline approaching, the Phillies are expected to soon make their best contract offer in an attempt to keep Hamels in Philadelphia, but that offer has not yet been made.
When it is, Hamels will have to decide if it is enough to remain with the Phillies or if the enticement of a potential mega-deal offer from another organization is too much of a temptation to resist. If Hamels declines the Phillies' offer, the team will have to decide if one of the trade proposals coming their way for the 28-year-old lefthander is worth consumating.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has said it's possible that the trade deadline could pass without Hamels signing a deal and without a trade of the pitcher, but that certainly would not be the best-case scenario for the team.
Stay tuned.
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Everybody says just pay the guy, but that's what we all said about Rollins, Utley and Howard to name a few. Then everybody blames Ruben for the predicament we're in. Keep Halladay and Hamels, any other pitcher can be traded to a contender that will overpay. Hamels is young and was WS MVP!— burholme- I just can't see letting him walk for draft picks. I also can't
see tradiing him for draft picks. I don't care how good they
say a prospect is. A prospect is just that, a prospect. The draft
picks then can get for Hamels doesn't mean they will be any good
in the ML. Case in point, look at Dominic Brown. Sure would hate
to lose Hamels and not get proven ML players that can help the
club NOW. Good luck Rube, it's in your hands, hope you make the
right decision.— associate - @associate...Not sure what point you're trying to make by saying "case in point, look at Dominic Brown." You do realize that Dominic Brown was picked in the 20th round of the draft, and everything he has already accomplished in the major leagues far exceed whatever expectations could have been put on him that day he was drafted. Dominic Brown, as horrible as he has been, is a success as a 20th round draft pick. — Eilex826
- Teams need good young players to build around. I think keeping
Hamels and Pence would be a good idea and just build around
them. Hopefully they can find good players for 3rd base, 2nd base,
and a couple of good outfielders. Bourne would sure would look
good in centerfield. There's no crystal ball to tell us what
the future looks like for Howard. But it sure would be nice if
he can rebound next year and earn his huge salary. Go Phils— associate - @associate...Have you paid attention to the Phillies the last few years? Teams that are "building around" certain players are trying to get somewhere—where the Phillies are. They are not looking to — Eilex826
- @associate...have you been paying attention to the Phillies the last few years? Teams looking to "build around" certain players because of those players ages are trying to get where the Phillies have gotten—and are looking to stay. The Phillies team (and its fans, regardless of what they say) do not want to relive the '90s, save 1993.
While I agree it is imperative to keep Hamels around long-term as part of their rotation, they do not need Hunter Pence. I was opposed to the trade last July and I would be in favor of moving him now. Pence provides the team with very little. He's a less productive Jayson Werth (putting up good numbers, but other than the rare occasion where a ball gets through he routinely fails when truly needed; I could care less how many solo home runs he launches 20 rows back when games are out of reach, it's watching him walk back to the dugout after striking out in a clutch situation that is more important), who plays poor defense and is unteachable as a hitter. If this season has proven anything it's that Hunter Pence cannot carry the load as a vital cog of a major league offense. With 1.5 years of control, he's probably the Phillies most valuable, and least needed, asset to deal this season.— Eilex826 - First, they are not Type A or Type B FA anymore. Teams will get picks it the FA leaves. However, they have to offer the player a one year contract that averages the salary of top 125 highest players. I believe it's set a $12.5 million this year. Obviously Hamels won't accept. However, the problem with collecting so many high draft picks is that you run the risk of no signing all because under the new CBA agreement MLB allocates teams a quantity to spend for draft picks. That's why the Phillies couldn't sign their 2nd round pick this year, who opted for college. The best case scenario is to trade Lee (very difficult, because of his big salary and so-so season + plus his age) and sign Hamels. I don't see the Phillies paying $70 millions a year to three pitchers, when they still have Howard, Utley, Rollins with big contracts, plus Pence should get around $15 mil in arbitrarion and Chooch 5 mil option will be picked or maybe the team will reward him with a nice extension. Also, there would be holes at 3b and CF and probably LF next year. Where the money is going to come from? Somebody has to go or maybe a few players. Let's hope it's not Hamels for obvious reasons, one of them being that under the new CBA, rental players won't get the new team compensation if they leave, diminishing their trade value, unless they agree to sign with their new teams, very unlikely also, because they could test the market in a few months anyway. If Hamels waited this long, why sign now?— EL Zorro
- @El Zorro...the Phillies, or any team, would gladly take extra picks in the draft anytime. The more picks you have, the more chances you have to hit on something. The way the draft money pool is set is based on how many picks you have, where you are picking them in the draft, not just a flat rate. The Phillies failed to sign one of their second round picks because the player received bad advice or just does not want to play major league baseball. At the end of the day they were not very far apart—and the Phillies attached paying for college to make up for his scholarship—but each side refused to budge. Not the Phillies fault. — Eilex826
- I forgot the almost $17 millions guaranteed to Papelbon, Kendrick and Nix and Lee's $25 mil. My rough estimation is that they would spent $135 millions in 10 players next year: Howard, Lee, Halladay, Utley, Pence, Rollins, Papelbon, Ruiz, Kendrick and Nix. That means they have 35 to spend in 15 players, including Hamels or his replacement, a new 3B and CF, plus bullpen and bench help.— EL Zorro
- @El Zorro...how can you estimate how much the Phillies have to spend on players next season? Since the 2007 season their payroll has risen every season, and whenever a need arises they find a way to pay the money...even when they have already said they are at their ceiling of spending. In 2010 there was no way they could afford to trade for Oswalt, then sign Lee in December, and then acquire Hunter Pence the following July, yet all three players were acquired the Phillies paid the contracts.
It's not fair, nor your place, to list what the Phillies can and will spend next season when none of us have that inside information, and whatever has been told to us as fans has been blown up and rewritten whenever the need has come up.— Eilex826 - @Eilex, wrong:
http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/887/new-draft-rules-could-impact-prep-prospects#more
Limited bonus money
Clubs are now limited on the total bonus money they spend in each draft, with a value being assigned to each particular draft pick through round 10. Bonuses starting in round 11 can’t be higher than $100,000 without that, too, counting against the total allotted pool.''
In the past the Phillies were willing to sign two sport stars like Dom Brown in the late rounds, players teams shied away because of their college commitments to play football or basketball, giving them 2nd or 3rd or even 1st round money. Now teams can't do that.— EL Zorro - @El Zorro...I didn't see this comment a few minutes ago. However, you are wrong in saying I'm wrong, because your post basically clarifies what I said earlier. My comment was that teams would gladly take the extra picks and try to hit on something, and since they have extra picks (which will come in the first ten round—and most likely first two or three) they will have extra money allotted to them to spend on those draft picks. If the Phillies gain extra draft pick(s) if and when Hamels leaves as a free agent, that pick(s) will be in the top part of the draft and therefore would increase the Phillies draft money in next year's draft to spend on players. If they let Hamels sign as a free agent with another team the compensation is not going to be three extra 30th round picks that they can draft the next Dominic Brown from. — Eilex826
- Eilex, first I can't respond directly to the post sometimes. Back to the point. Amaro said recently that they more likely stay with last year's budget of roughly $170 because that's close to the luxury tax and the penalties they have to pay if they surpass it. He said that if he thinks he needs to go over to sign a player he'll propose it to Montgomery, but with all the money tied up to aging players and the needs the team has at 3B, CF and LF, it would be very difficult for them to sign Hamels and have enough money to fill those spots with good players. They might have to go with Mayberry in CF and Brown in LF. Go get a cheap 3B, and go with a young bullpen with Herndon, Stutes, Defratus or other kids if they want to sign Hamels. Yes, each and every year they have increased payroll, but they are at the ceiling now and have to pay penalties if they go over it. One thing is clear, they won't have a $200 million payroll.— EL Zorro
- @El Zorro...no big deal not responding directly to posts...I have that issue myself sometimes. All I read on these boards is how much fans hate Amaro, how nothing he says in the media is the truth, and then I turn around and read that when something he says fits with what a fan has written, it becomes gospel. Amaro has said repeatedly that they have no money in the budget to get such and such a player, but then gets said player anyway. Yes, Amaro will have to get approval from the ownership group to spend more money, but that's they way it has always been...regardless if the payroll is $75M or $175M. None of us except those writing the checks have any inclination to say what they will be comfortable spending next year, so it is premature and not any of our places to put a spending limit on the team.
"One thing is clear, they won't have a $200 million payroll."
And five years ago you could have said the same thing about a $150 million payroll. You just don't know for sure, and it's only speculation from an outside source with no inside knowledge. That's called an opinion.— Eilex826 - Teams can also offer draft picks more money than that slot was assigned but if they go over they have to pay penalties depending on the percentage of the money they went over and also could lose future draft picks. Teams that failed to sign draft picks, like Pittsburgh, who didn't sign 1st round pick Mike Appel ($2.9 mil) and the Phillies, get another pick next year. Then again, assuming the Phillies don't sign Hamels and Victorino, they will get sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd. That would create a lot of picks in the first and second rounds. They would have at least 5 picks, their own, the two sandwich picks between the 1st and 2nd for Hamels and Vic and one sandiwch pick between the 2nd and 3rd for losing this year's 2nd pick. Don't you think it would be better two get a few prospects for the two FA to be than getting picks with the risk of not having enough money to sign them? That's the point here.— EL Zorro
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
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Bob Brookover
Inquirer Baseball Columnist
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