The Phillies made waves with their four-year, $50MM signing of Jonathan Papelbon, but now they must look at how that deal and the rest of their hefty payroll will shape their contract talks with Cole Hamels. Here's a look at the Phillies and more from the NL East..
- Four teams showed serious interest in Papelbon prior to the reliever with the Phillies, a major league source told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. That number is including the Phillies but not the Red Sox, who never made a formal offer to Papelbon.
- There don't appear to be any conversations between the Phillies and left-hander Cole Hamels, who will be eligible for free agency next fall so the club will have three possible options, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). The Phils could sign Hamels to a one-year contract for 2012 and risk him walking away with with little to no return, try and lock him up to a long-term deal, or deal him now for the best possible return. Some officials believe that the club's best course of action would be to move him this winter if they know now they don't want to pay him $20MM per season.
- If the Mets cannot re-sign Jose Reyes, they may look to make Daniel Murphy the full-time second baseman, an organizational source told Mike Puma of the New York Post.
- Based off of comments from Mets GM Sandy Alderson, it sounds like pitcher Chris Capuano is a goner, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. On Monday, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Mets have crossed the veteran off of their list due to his desire for a two-year deal.
hello daniel murphy
Man, do you really have to call Capuano a “goner’? Sounds kind of ominous.
Shouldn’t Murphy be their full time second baseman whether they resign Reyes or not?
i think the assumption is he competes with tejada for the job. If reyes leaves tejada is the ss
Love how this website is always in favor of a trade now mentality before your star might walk away. even if there is no rumor of it happening
Since when is it a crime to be speculative?
i didnt mean it was a crime or anything was even wrong with it but i find it amusing
I want you to take a long, hard look at the url 😛
I think the Phils can, and need to retain Hamels long term. They don’t have anymore legit starting arms coming up for a few more years, Lee and Doc aren’t getting any younger, who knows how Worley is really going to turn out, and Blanton is gone after next season (if not sooner).
I really don’t think they can. 60+ million for 3 starters for the next 3 years(after this year) would be hard to afford, especially with the Papelbon signing, Howard, Utley all expensive. With Polanco on the decline, and maybe Rollins coming back to a semi-large contract, there is a lot of age and money problems that re-signing Hamels won’t help.
Polanco is gone next year or resigned as a superutility player at a very low dollar figure. 60+ million for 3 starters of that claiber seems about right and leaves 90+ million for your remaining players which should be manageable with young underpaid players coming up like Brown, Mayberry Jr., Galvis and Worley. The money is there, and Hamels may be willing to backload the contract to set up even more flexibility.
Whoever signs Hamels will get lambasted by the media and other teams fans. Yet another classic off and on again from year to year pitcher, much like Josh Beckett and more than likely will be looking on the market for the 4-5 year deal @17m+ a year after the 2012 season that Beckett is earning.
Edit:
I also am in the crowd as who the NYY are chomping at the bit to reach FA and throw more than a beckett/Burnet type deal at if they need to to acquire.
Not trying to upset you Philly fans here, but just do not think that he can translate even his best season dominance to the power house AL East and think he will be a decent, but more like a 2-3 at best in the AL East *IF* he reaches FA and the NYY do eventually get him.
Not even close to true he’s been consistent his entire career
exactly. one mediocre year (2009) that can easily be tagged a result of the Verducci effect after pitching lights out in the 08 postseason. he’s been very good otherwise.
Had better look at his career with open eyes rather than Philly biased ones. Consistency with IP is one thing, dominance from year to year is quite another.
Im not a phillie fan, but ok maybe you should look at his fip xfip and tell me just how much it sways.
In 2014 the Phillies will be paying $75 million to Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay, and Cliff Lee.
If you are looking for an answer on why the Phillies would strongly consider letting them go, this is probably it.
Well in all honesty, wouldn’t you rather trade the guy and get high upside prospects for him, instead of nothing? There’s a lot of talk that the new CBA could change the Free Agent classes, so a Type-A FA would NOT cost the acquiring team their 1st round draft pick. If that happens, and they feel they can’t sign him lucratively/long term, they should trade him this winter for the biggest return possible.
Honestly, I think the Phils would be best off keeping him this year, and if they don’t retain him in FA, so be it. The Phillies have been and will be on the cusp of another WS this year, but that window is closing fast. I really don’t think one year of Hamels would return enough to single handedly keep them in contention a few years down the road. Sometimes you just gotta go all in, which is evident by their signing of Papelbon.
“The Phillies have been and will be on the cusp of another WS this year, but that window is closing fast.”
That window , possibly has already closed . Injuries and age have caught up to the Phillies the last several years . Don’t expect this year to be anything different .
They’re still in the hunt and will be next year. Get in the playoffs . It’s all a crapshoot at that point.
Did you miss the part where they won 102 games this year? The playoffs are a crapshoot. They outscored the Cards in their series and lost two one-run games and a two-run game. The Phillies have won more games every year since ’06.
I LIKE TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS
The Yankees are just waiting for Hamels to become a free agent, and I think he knows that. He will get paid. I don’t think he will agree to sign an extension with a team unless it’s someone like the Yankees, Rangers, Red Sox, etc. He’s made it pretty clear he wants to hit FA.
Tell them to keep waiting.They’ll never get that chance.Hamels,at some point during the season WILL be resigned…….just like Ryan Howard was.This isn’t Milwaukee and Sabathia.The Phillies have proven that they can go toe-to-toe with the Red Sox and Yankees when it comes to signing free agents.
Bleacher Creaturd fixed his caps lock! Now you gotta fix your spacebar, or at least in between sentences lol.
That’s not the real Bleacher Creature. This guy’s an impostor…
There is no way that the Phillies can afford Hamels to leave. He, along with the other two and Kershaw formed the best four pitchers in baseball that year. Hamels is the youngest of the big three, the only homegrown one of the big three, and in the first half of the season, the best pitcher of the three. Apart from a strain this year, that I have no doubt he would have pitched through in the postseason, he has been healthy and his mechanics are quite solid.
Had RAJ not gone all moron with the checkbook, this would be less of an issue. 5 years $105 million SHOULD get it done. But of course, moron gives out $25 M per year to Howard, nearly $13 M per year for a CLOSER, and will likely do something stupid in left field too when Brown is CLEARLY ready, cheap, and available.
The important thing is to actually get cheaper options on the team. That is cost controlled bullpen arms, who collectively, sans Papelbon, should make under $7 M if they go with a young pen.
People talk about Polanco leaving. Polancy is an all glove no bat player; Freddy Galvis can provide the exact same thing for a tenth of the price.
Trust me,the Phillies did NOT sign Papelbon to a record deal,simply to allow Hamels to walk away after 2012.They have a plan.They have their priorities.This year it’s bullpen,LF,SS,1st base,bench,and possibly 3rd base.Next year,Hamels WILL be priority #1.
Hamels for Hanley!
Seriously, for a man that is in love with Pitching as much as Ruben is, there is NO WAY Hamels walks. The Phillies have been dreaming of developing their own Ace for a long, long time. He will be back and will get paid like Lee and Halladay. However, they might defer his money so it doesn’t overlap as much with those two.
If Murphy becomes the fulltime second baseman, what happens to the glut of prospects that they have transitioned from SS to 2B (Valdespin, Satin, and Havens)? I don’t think the Mets are going to win the World Series anytime soon so they might start to think like a small city ball club and focus on the future. Seems to make more sense to move Murphy to 3B and trade Wright for some future prospects. Then again, attendance would be crushed with the loss of both Reyes and Wright simultaneously.
Downfall of signing Papelbon to a hefty deal is likely not being able to sign a spectacular starting pitcher in Cole Hamels. If I were them, I’d rather have the latter.
This is just silly. Papelbon in 2012 will make less than Lidge made in 2011. The Phillies have money, if Hamels is willing to do an extension they will get it done.
I thought that Murphy was supposed to be moving to the Outfield full-time after coming back from his latest injury..
After his first hair-raising stint in the OF, the only way the Mets do that is if they are determined to let him star in his very own blooper reel.
Not many contending teams would trade one of their best pitchers just because he’s a free agent the following year.
I get that they’re saying it though. They do have Halladay and Lee at the front of their rotation. That alone should help you advance in the playoffs.
It really depends on what they could get for him, of course.
You don’t have to have the best anything. It’s all a crapshoot.
…Lincecum has a WS ring, but Cruz, Kinsler, Hamilton don’t. Not really sure what your comment means.
Why would they just be competing with the Yanks? I bet a WHOLE LOT of teams would open up the wallets to go after Cole Hamels.
So you are basing Cole Hamels will sign with the Yankees on what The Phillies 2013 payroll will be? I mean this with the least amount of disrespect, you sound like the typical douchebag Yanks fan who thinks that any good player will be a yankee at some point in their career.Listing a bunch of ‘what ifs’ and ‘we don’t knows’ with your bias clearly present immediately destroy any argument you might have.All that does is gives anyone with an opposing viewpoint the ability to counter your argument by predicting base on their own bias.Case in point, Shortstop is played by a low cost free agent, Domonic Brown becomes a lefthander Matt Kemp, Ryan Howard decline is minimal, Utley returns to form, throw in two position player prospects for the phillies who come up and have monster seasons, a third baseman and a outfielder, and the new phillies mascot is Doutzen Kroes and Chanel Iman tongue kissing in fuzzy bikinis making the phillies the champions of the world.You see how ridiculous that is? Not that any of that matters when it comes to Hamels.Arbitration raises and filling holes in the line up will not cost the Phillies 71 million dollars, which is the differences between the 2011 and 2013 payrolls.Not to mention, the phillies only have 4 contracts on the books for 2014 with a payroll predicted to be $63 million.The Phillies payroll will not be bloated in 2013 and definitely not in 2014 unless they go on a spending spree this off season, which is unlike or they decide to become a mid market club, which is equally unlikely.So signing hamels to an extension shouldn’t be a problem, especially if he willing to have that contract back loaded.
And blew everyone out of the water to sign Cliff Lee?
Just like they signed Cliff Lee. Not everyone wants to go to the Yanks. Hamels will stay. the Phils have an undervalued TV contract that will be come due and they will have the money.They replaced Werth with Pence. They will replace Rollins as well.Howard will be just fine.
Actually the Rangers offered more money than the Yankees in the Cliff Lee deal. And the Phillies offer the highest AAV. From 2013-2016, Cliff Lee will be the highest paid pitcher in baseball.
I’ve heard different reasons. Some mentioned that his son has leukemia and Philly has one of the best children’s hospitals in the country.
it sounds like you’re referring to Pirates manager Clint Hurdle who’s son has an uncommon illness that is best treated in a Pittsburgh hospital that is most prominent in treating it, a factor in his decision last offseason to take the Pirates managerial job.
That’s why he said he Thinks. He didn’t say he Knows. But I’m sure you Know.
Cashmoney was fair in his comments — I think the Yankees would drop a load of cash on Hamels doorstep. Not sure Hamels would take it, but then again he might be interested in the experience of pitching #2 to CC. The Angels, Cubs, and Red Sox would also be interested in Hamels (and as a Cali guy, don’t count out the Angels or even SF, though I suspect they won’t want to Zito a deal with Hamels. if Zito can be a verb)
The Phills are getting older and the “old guys” contracts are getting expensive . Somebody is gonna have to go wether they like it or not . They could keep Hamels . But they will have to get rid of someone else to be able to keep him .
also, the Cards pitching staff wasn’t like the Giants pitching staff and the Cards still won. so, it doesn’t always come down to pitching.
Also also: lee and halladay didn’t advance out of the first round this postseason thanks to subpar offense, so getting rid of hamels for, say, more offense, might make sense with Vance Worley stepping up last year and (hopefully) carrying some success over this year.
Having a great rotation will get you at least to the 1st round of the playoffs before you get knocked out by a suprise team and have to watch the rest of the playoffs from your La-Z-Boy crying ,”we should have been there .”
Funny , that the Phills keep getting older and making trades and signs to keep at the top when there future is looking not so good .
It is true Cliff Lee and his wife were extremely happy with Children’s Hospital in Philly. Thankfully their son is doing well now
No, Cliff lee is who he’s talking about. He is correct.
I’m confident Hamels will sign with Philly and I definitely KNOW not everyone wants to sign with the Yankees
Well thank you.
And I definitely KNOW not everyone wants to sign with the Phillies.
True. Players will just use the Yanks to drive the price up.