PHILADELPHIA --- In the realities of baseball finance, Cole Hamels is facing two fruitful options: Sign with the Phillies ... or sign someplace else.

The Phillies, though, have a third option: Trade him first.

David Montgomery?

"Is that an option? Of course that's an option," the Phillies' president said Sunday. "Is that realistic? That is not our inclination at this point. We have said that repeatedly. Our inclination is that when you think about 'today and tomorrow' as the 'present and the future', the one thing that Cole represents is that he is a 'bridge' player. He is important today and he can be very important to us because of his age and his ability for a number of years. That, to us, makes sense. That is a player you want to chase.”

So the Phillies' chase continues for a home-grown, 28-year old All-Star and former World Series MVP.

“We're just going to do what we have been doing, which is try to convince him that this is the right place for him," Montgomery said. "I want him back. But 'we' want him back. I think the fans want him back. The Cole Hamels-es within an organization don't come along every day. Cole has the right to do what he is doing, which is to thoughtfully evaluate his opportunities. We would like to retain him. He has certainly not given us the indication that we would read, 'No way do I want to play here.' You can't misread that.

“Looking back at the Scott Rolen situation at that time, there was evidence of that that we chose to look past," Montgomery continued. “We don't see any of that in Cole. We see a young man deciding whether to make a commitment or wait and evaluate his opportunities."

Hamels is 10-4 with a 3.20 ERA at the All-Star break.

---- JACK McCAFFERY