Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to a six-year, $144 million contract extension late Tuesday night, and that's good news for the Chicago Cubs. With the prospect of acquiring Hamels off the board for teams looking to upgrade their pitching, Chicago trade chips Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza may look even more attractive.
Cole Hamels new phillies deal is for $144 million over 6 years.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 25, 2012
That's especially true as it pertains to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were thought by many to be Hamels' next landing spot in free agency. Now, there's even more incentive for the Dodgers and Cubs to work out a trade that ends up with Dempster landing in L.A. Hamels' new contract makes him the second highest paid pitcher in baseball, behind C.C. Sabbathia.
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