Do Phillies Fans Want Josh Hamilton?

Rumors are starting to heat up about Josh Hamilton and the Phillies, especially now with B.J. Upton signing with Atlanta. The question is, do Phillies fans want their team to sign Hamilton?

The general consensus is no, they don’t. But should they? Many people are looking at the risks of signing Hamilton, and there are a few that could kill the deal. However, there are a few pros that could lead to this being a good move.

First, the cons everyone is seeing–the biggest is the issue of money, as Hamilton wants a lot. He was rumored at one point to be asking for around a seven year, $175 million deal, which will not be happening no matter what team he signs with. I think that Hamilton will begin to see that no one is willing to give him that kind of contract and will lower his asking price. If the Phillies can get him down to somewhere around a three year deal with an option for a fourth, they should pull the trigger.

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

As many baseball fans know, Hamilton has had his share of issues involving drugs and alcohol through his career. Hamilton has seemed to keep his issues under control lately and has not let it effect his  performance, coming off probably the best season of his career.

That being said, coming to Philadelphia, a city that seems to have more of a party scene than Dallas, may make it difficult for Hamilton to stay on the right path. Along with that, in my opinion, the fans here can be a little harder on players not performing up to their abilities, and who knows how Hamilton would respond to that.

However, there are a few pros to signing Hamilton.

First of all, he is one of the best players in the league right now and I do not think anyone will argue that. He would add an immediate boost to the offense and the middle of the lineup would look pretty intimidating, on paper at least. Citizens Bank Park is very hitter friendly with a great environment and Hamilton could take advantage of that and thrive off the passion of the crowd.

So, back to the question of do the fans want the Phillies to sign Hamilton? Right now, probably not. There are still a few options other than Hamilton that the Phillies could look to including Angel Pagan or bringing back Shane Victorino.

These may not be as glamorous or news breaking as the blockbuster Hamilton move, but they may have more value. If the price is right for Hamilton, he could be a big help to the team. Hopefully Ruben doesn’t feel like he needs to make a big splash and offer a bigger deal than necessary to Hamilton with other options on the table. With the winter meetings coming up next week, I think we will start to see what direction the Phillies are leaning and possibly see a signing soon after.