Philadelphia Phillies Free Agency: 8 Signs a Cole Hamels Extension Is Coming

Can Amaro reach another agreement with a pitcher of his this week?
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The Phillies pitchers, catchers and most of the the position players have reported to Clearwater, Fla. Already have we seen the Phillies re-sign Kyle Kendrick to his second contract of the offseason, could Cole Hamels be next? Hamels enters camp with only one year of club control left with the Phillies.

He Wants It Done

Hamels wants to remain a Phillie
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He was very clear in his press conference: Cole Hamels wants to remain a Phillie. There is no “well maybe we’ll get it done, we’ll see,” a sign pointing towards a deal soon being reached.

The Team Wants It Done

The team certainly could benefit from having more Cole Hamels around
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They continue to insist they want to sign Hamels, something they would not do if they did not think they could get him. That would be a PR nightmare, especially with this growing fanbase, so this probably foreshadows a deal.

The Phillies Have Money

According to one of their owners, David Montgomery, the Phillies have money.

We heard it right from the boss’s mouth—the Phillies have money to sign Cole Hamels. When the Phillies have money, as they’ve had in recent years, they sign the player they desire.

Albert Pujols

We all saw what happened after Pujols' not-talking in season approach
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We all witnessed the Albert Pujols situation take place last spring and this offseason. Pujols was disinterested in speaking to the Cardinals about getting an extension done, which preceded taking the money and leaving the only team for which he’s played. Fortunately for the Phillies, Hamels has been open all along to getting a deal done.

Kyle Kendrick's Deal

Kendrick just got his extension; is Hamels next?
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The number one reason cited for why they gave Kyle Kendrick an extension: cost certainty. The Phillies wanted to know just how much they had with which to work. Why? So they can structure Hamels’ deal in such a way to accommodate the rest of the payroll.

No Logical Reason Not to Sign Him

Halladay and Lee could be backed by Hamels for future seasons if a deal is reached
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The Phillies do have the money, and the luxury tax is still about $60 million away for 2012. Hamels should be fine after his surgeries this offseason, so really, what logical reason is there that says they should not get this done?

Not Hearing Anything About Putting Him out There for a Trade

It's a good sign that the Phillies did not ship Cole Hamels to Seatle to "restock the farm system"
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The Phillies faced a somewhat similar situation to this one before in 2009-10 when they had the prospect of losing Cliff Lee to free agency. In their preliminary discussions, they gathered a feeling that a deal probably would not be able to be reached. You would think they at least talked about it with Hamels, and as Hamels has not been traded, you would think they feel confident they can strike a deal.

No Media Speculation It Won’t Get Done

The Phillies hope to reenact this scene in future seasons, not just '12
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The media often has a good feel on these types of things. Nine times out of the 10, they are correct, and it is refreshing to hear that most of them expect a deal to be reached between the two sides. In addition to that, there really has not been any speculation that it won’t get done, so that’s another sign.