King Cole will reign over Philly for 3 more years

World Series MVP Cole Hamels was due for a big raise and he got it today. Hamels and the Phillies agreed to a 3 year, 20.5 million dollar contract, a deal that takes him through his remaining arbitration years. There are also several bonuses worked into the deal if Hamels wins a Cy Young, makes the All Star team or is the World Series MVP again.

Kudos to the Phillies, and to Hamels, for getting this deal done. It's a pretty reasonable deal considering the amount of money C.C. Sabathia got so Hamels should be commended for that. King Cole will become a free agent when the deal expires in 2012 so he could leave town at that point, but it's nice to know he will be anchoring the Phillies staff for the next few years.

The Phillies still have a few more contract situations to work out, including some that may prove to be difficult. Ryan Howard is going to expect a fat contract but I don't think the Phillies will give him one. Ryan Madson is another arbitration-eligible player that won't likely come to terms anytime soon and has already turned down a 3 year offer. Besides Hamels, Greg Dobbs, who signed for 2 years, 2.5 million, is the only other Phillie to agree to a contract. Joe Blanton, Chad Durbin, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth are the rest of the Phillies who are arbitration-eligible and will need deals to be worked out.

The next three years of King Cole should be fun to watch. Let's see if he can be the ace of another World Series pitching staff.