Deep thoughts: Cole Hamels will be in his age 34 season when his giant deal ends. Ryan Howard is in his age 32 season as his giant deal starts. See: our Ruben is learning!
Anyway, to make it all official-like -- and to show you guys that the official Phillies Twitter has not blocked me -- we note:Hamels has signed a 6 year, $144 million extension (thru 2018) that includes club/vesting option for 2019 and limited no trade clause.
— Phillies (@philaphillies) July 25, 2012
Ken Rosenthal says that the Phillies standard limited no-trade clause is a 21-team no-trade list in which players pick eight teams where they can go without restriction. I guess it’s semantics, but it’s more of a “trade me here” clause than a “no trade clause.”
Also: the vesting option allows for the Phillies to bring Hamels back at a reduced salary for that seventh year if the benchmarks aren’t met. Of course, depending on what those benchmarks are, if they’re not met, it’s likely a situation in which the team doesn’t require his services any longer to begin with.
