Cole Hamels

3:15pm: The sides aren't close to a deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.

1:41pm: Negotiations between the Phillies and lefty Cole Hamels are heating up, in the opinion of Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Hamels' agent John Boggs is spending the week in the Clearwater area and has been talking to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr.  Boggs finds a deal unlikely before he leaves, but he's not setting a deadline.

For Hamels' vague thoughts on his next contract from a few weeks ago, click here.  Hamels, Matt Cain, Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, and Brandon McCarthy are the best starters eligible for free agency after the 2012 season.

Phillies lefty Cole Hamels has no deadline in contract extension talks, he told reporters today at a press conference.  MLB.com's Todd Zolecki has a transcript.

Asked whether Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are good contract comparisons, Hamels didn't say much to reveal his asking price in years or salary.  He also didn't give a "yes" or "no" when asked if he'd take less to stay in Philadelphia, replying, "The only way to answer that is I don’t know any better."  When asked whether his agents are currently in negotations with the Phillies, Hamels said, "I know they're supposed to."

The Phillies will have every opportunity to extend Hamels, explained agent John Boggs in January, though not at Jered Weaver money.  Team president David Montgomery expects it to come down to what each side considers an appropriate length.  I imagine Hamels expects at least six guaranteed years, though that's a guess.

With an ever-increasing payroll, it would seem difficult for the Phillies to find room to sign Cole Hamels to a lucrative new deal.  However, team president David Montgomery told Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer that he is confident that a deal can be reached.

"I don't think it's difficult," said Montgomery. "We've let [Hamels] know we're anxious to have him stay here. Cole enjoys it here…It'll probably come down to what we think is an appropriate length and what they think. You try to minimize risk by not going longer than necessary. And a player is looking for as much security as he can get. It's an equation that takes time to hopefully get worked out."

Recently, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that the Phillies will have trouble re-signing the left-hander for anything less than market value after giving hefty deals to Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, and Jimmy Rollins.  Hamels' agent John Boggs also says that he doesn't consider Jered Weaver's team-friendly five-year, $85MM deal as a parallel.

Cole Hamels now owns the second-largest salary in arbitration history ($15MM), and he's not stopping there.  Agent John Boggs expects his client to be compensated as an "elite pitcher," and he doesn't consider Jered Weaver's team-friendly five-year, $85MM deal a factor.  Explained Boggs to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com:

"I don't think it's a parallel.  That contract is great for Jered. I understand it. But he took a different path and left a lot of money on the table. He came up through the Angels system and grew up in their backyard. He's pitching where he grew up. That situation appeals to him. It's a similar situation to when I had Tony Gwynn. Without getting into specifics of what we're looking for, the Weaver situation is unique to Weaver."

Weaver's contract covered his final arbitration year and then four free agent seasons at an average of $17.5MM.  Unlike Weaver, Hamels was a Super Two player, and the salary of his final arbitration year has already been determined.  Hamels' new contract will probably only cover free agent years.  Even if he doesn't reach the $23-24MM range of C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee, I think six years and $120MM is just a starting point for Hamels, who will turn 29 during the 2012-13 offseason.

The Phillies have first dibs.  According to Boggs, "When you're this close [to free-agency] you have mixed emotions.  But Cole has come through the Phillies organization, and if you asked him his preference, more than likely he'd want to remain with the Phillies. That's how it would be going into the negotiations, but every negotiation is different. Everything depends on our perceived value of what Cole is worth and what their perceived value of him is. That will dictate if a long-term deal gets done. We'll always give the Phillies every opportunity to secure him."