"I would expect him to be in spring training with the Phillies," Amaro told ESPN's Jayson Stark. "And I would expect him to be our Opening Day starter. I don't know that for sure. That could change in a phone call or two, just like with anyone else. But I would expect him to be in camp."
"As long as he's still with us, there's a chance something could happen," Amaro said. "I can't really handicap it. It certainly seems likely he'll be in camp with us, but it can change. Guys get hurt in spring training a lot. Teams can have different assessments of where they are as they begin to look at their club. There's a whole slew of different circumstances that could affect how teams view their club. So maybe somebody could change course."
Hamels, 31 has a no-trade clause to a few teams that are in discussion with the Phillies. Hamels would have to agree with Amaro to be traded. Trading the left-handed pitcher probably will not be an easy thing to do.
"Cole is a unique situation. (To acquire him) requires talent and money," Amaro said. "So it's a totally different dynamic than it would be for someone to acquire one of the free agents. So I'm not really sure what the direct impact is, or whether there is a direct impact."
The San Diego native strung together a record of 9-9, while adding a 2.46 ERA over 30 games in 2014. He has been very healthy; pitching 200-plus innings in six of his nine MLB seasons.
-Evan Petzold