Phillies have not yet made their offer to Hamels

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.