Phillies Notes: Amaro: Don't expect Phillies to make wholesale changes

By Bob Brookover, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: July 15, 2012

DENVER - After meeting behind closed doors in the visitors clubhouse with manager Charlie Manuel and the coaching staff, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. conceded that this six-game road trip to begin the second half was significant.

He would not say, however, that this trip will decide whether the Phillies are buyers or sellers at the fast-approaching July 31 trade deadline.

"These next several games are important to us, no question," Amaro said before the Phillies played the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. "But I don't think we could ever put ourselves in a position to be a total seller anyway. We expect to be contending in '13, '14, '15, and beyond. So this is not a situation where even if things don't work out for us in 2012 that we're going to make super wholesale changes. That's not what we're about."

The potential change that is drawing the most attention, of course, is the deadline fate of lefthander Cole Hamels, who can be a free agent following the season.

Amaro was asked if the fact that the Phillies have no plans of rebuilding next season or any time soon should serve as a positive sign that Hamels will be here next season.

"Our goal remains the same with Cole," Amaro said. "We never stopped wanting to try to keep him in our uniform. We never had any other goal. Whether we can get to the finish line in doing that, I don't know."

Does a deal with Hamels have to get done before the trade deadline?

"I don't know if that's necessarily true," Amaro said. "Not necessarily true. A lot of it is a decision that's up to Cole. He's the one that has to sign the contract. People think it's just a one-sided deal. Everyone has to come to an agreement."

Several baseball sources have indicated that the length of the contract rather than the annual value has been the sticking point in negotiations.

Extra bases

Lefty reliever Raul Valdes was placed on the disabled list with a strained right hip before Friday's game. Joe Savery was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley to replace him. . . . Righthander Kyle Kendrick was available in the bullpen for Friday's game. . . . Phillies second-round draft pick Alec Rash, a high school pitcher out of Iowa, did not sign with the team before Friday's 5 p.m. deadline. He will attend the University of Missouri.

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