Too Soon to Think About Contract Extensions?

It might seem a little bit too ear;y to discuss this, but Jimmy Rollins and Cole Hamels are both playing in the last year of their contract.  Hamels is still arbitration eligible for 2012 – so it’s not like we’re going to lose him, but I’m wondering if we jump right now, can we get a bit of a discount?  After seeing what Cliff Lee got in Free Agency, there is no doubt that Hamels will want max value, and to land what would be his “career deal.”  I’m wondering if the Phillies go after him now with a solid offer, maybe he’ll realize that security is worth a lot too.   Jimmy Rollins is perhaps a more complex case, the guy has unmeasurable “swagger,” but the other things that can be measured are all starting to decline.

We might need Jay Floyd to chime in with something more in-depth here, but from the looks of it, SS isn’t exactly the deepest position on the farm.  We’ve heard the name Freddy Galvis for a few years, but the story with him has been a great defender with very little offense… are we ready to push Rollins out the door for that?

I know that we all want to get younger, and keeping Rollins isn’t following that plan, but if we keep the deal within a 2-3 year window, still have Rollins while this rotation is in place, and it wouldn’t be something to handcuff the team, I would be in favor.  I’ve also mentioned before that I think Rollins could shift to 3rd base if we wanted to extend his career a little bit (though I’ve heard him say in interviews that he’s a short stop, and once he can’t do that anymore he doesn’t know if he would want to continue playing).

So what would YOU guys do… let Hamels go to arbitration next year, or just let this year pass – figure out what Roy Oswalt wants to do and how much money you can commit going forward?

Do we want to let Rollins end the season without a contract in place for next year?  Share your thoughts, play the General Manager for a while.