The complicated Cole Hamels market

July, 16, 2012

7/16/12

3:55

PM ET

By Jim Bowden | ESPN.com

There is a huge difference between a team's retooling and rebuilding. For the Philadelphia Phillies, that difference is left-hander Cole Hamels.

By keeping intact a starting rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Hamels, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro could easily fix several of the team's short-term problems and rebound quickly to contend in 2013. That would require signing Hamels, a free agent at the end of the season, to a long-term contract. Amaro has made an all-out effort to do this and has made quite clear that this is the initial route he will take before the July 31 trade deadline. The decision is the right one, the smart one.

However, if Amaro is not able to sign Hamels by July 31, in my view, the GM has no reasonable choice except to trade him, rather than hold on to the lefty and risk receiving only draft picks as compensation.

Of course, this is easier said than done.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jim Bowden

Bowden, who served as the senior vice president and GM for the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals, is an analyst for ESPN.com. In 1992, Bowden became the youngest GM in MLB history when the Reds hired him at age 31. The Reds finished in first place twice during his 10 years as GM, and he was named MLB Executive of the Year by Baseball America in 1999. After working for ESPN in 2004, Bowden became the first GM of the Washington Nationals when the franchise relocated from Montreal to Washington, D.C., in 2005, working in that role until the 2009 season. Bowden co-hosts the "Inside Pitch" radio show on Sirius XM satellite radio. Follow on Twitter: @JimBowdenESPNxm.