The Philadelphia Phillies will reportedly name Cole Hamels their Opening Day starter as they appear unlikely to trade him.
Despite a constant swirl of trade rumors surrounding Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said he expects Hamels to be the team’s Day One starter after failing to complete a deal this winter.
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“I would expect him to be in spring training with the Phillies,” Amaro told ESPN. And I would expect him to be our Opening Day starter. I don’t know that for sure. That could change in a phone call or two, just like with anyone else. But I would expect him to be in camp.”
The team has made it no secret that they want to trade their established stars for future assets as they aggressively rebuild their roster. Unfortunately, Amaro has also made it no secret that he won’t eat Hamels’ salary and he won’t settle for anything less than top dollar. As a result, teams have largely passed, content to wait until the July trade deadline.
“As long as he’s still with us, there’s a chance something could happen,” Amaro said. “I can’t really handicap it. It certainly seems likely he’ll be in camp with us, but it can change. Guys get hurt in spring training a lot. Teams can have different assessments of where they are as they begin to look at their club. There’s a whole slew of different circumstances that could affect how teams view their club. So maybe somebody could change course.”
The Phillies would be wise to wait and take the route that the Tampa Bay Rays took with David Price. The team was in no hurry to move Price, which resulted in a nice haul from the Detroit Tigers at the 2014 trade deadline. While the Tigers had long been an AL favorite, the pressure to rise above the top put them in a position to give up big prospects for the pitcher they wanted.
Now the Phillies will have to remain content to play that game as well as they prepare to likely slog through the NL East once again. The team finished last in their division last year with a 73-89 record. They have since traded long-time infielder Jimmy Rollins in an effort to revamp their aging squad.
Those efforts will hit their peak whenever the team trades the 31-year-old Hamels, who posted one of the best seasons for an MLB starter last year, despite the mess around him.
Hamels posted a 2.46 ERA with a 9-9 record. He has been a pillar for the Phillies since leading them to a World Series championship, making 30 or more starts in every regular season since 2008.
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