The Philadelphia Phillies intend to keep Cole Hamels, but they could eventually decide to part ways with veteran pitcher for the right price.
Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Phillies are not looking to trade Hamels at this point, but will consider moving him if a team will offer four top prospects for the 30-year-old pitcher.
"The Phillies will want an acquiring team to surrender three or four top prospects and assume the $96 million owed to Hamels. They are in no way motivated to trade the 30-year-old pitcher," Gelb wrote.
Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg insisted that they are looking to improve their team in the hope of convincing Hamels that Philadelphia is still the best place for him, but doing so is easier said than done.
Sandberg said that trading Hamels, who is 6-6 this season with a 2.44 ERA, would be a huge risk for the team because he views the left hander as a key piece moving forward.
"For me the idea is to try to turn it around rather quickly. You have to have starting pitching to do that and he'd be a big piece," said Sandberg, whose team currently stands in last place in the National League East standings with a 54-70 record.
Sandberg pointed out that they will have a hard time replacing Hamels should they decide to trade him because of the uncertainty surrounding the future of 35-year-old Cliff Lee and 37-year-old A.J. Burnett on their team.
"He'd be a tough one to replace," Sandberg said. "He'd be tough to replace. We have question marks about Cliff [Lee]. Cliff, we won't know. A.J. [Burnett], we don't know. You have to start your staff somewhere and he'd be a good place to start."
The nine-year veteran, who has spent his entire career in Philadelphia, wants to stay with the team, but also said that he is ready for any eventuality, knowing that baseball is still has its business side.
"I just want to play as long as I possibly can and if I'm able to play it in a Phillies uniform, then my family and I are going to be ecstatic," Hamels said via CBS Philadelphia. "We are going to be the happiest we could possibly be, because we do, we enjoy it here-but at the same time, I know how business goes."
