Top 4 former Phillies players who are still unsigned

A 2008 Phillies World Series champion, Cole Hamels, is not yet ready to retire.

Similar to David Robertson‘s recent stint with the Phillies, the recent stint of 2008 World Series champion Cole Hamels with the division-rival Atlanta Braves was also short-lived — albeit having a high-dollar contract.

Signed last season to a one-year, $18 million deal, Hamels appeared in just one start and 3 1/3 innings in a Braves uniform — allowing three hits, three runs (all earned), and one walk across 14 batters faced.

Hamels suffered multiple setbacks leading up to the season, including experiencing triceps tendinitis just weeks before Opening Day in July. He had missed all of spring training a few months prior with a shoulder strain, and would not have been ready for the season had it began on time.

Hamels’ career to date has spanned 15 seasons with four different teams — the Phillies from 2006-15, the Texas Rangers from 2015-18, and the Chicago Cubs from 2018-19, and last season with the Braves.

There are no signs that Hamels wants to hang up the cleats just yet. In mid-January, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported that Hamels intends to pitch this coming season. But, at the same time, he appears to be drawing little to no interest in the free-agent market.

The Gabe Kapler-led San Francisco Giants reportedly expressed “preliminary interest” in Hamels at the time of Morosi’s report, but nothing has come about since.

Perhaps, if the Phillies remain in contention well into the season, they will give their former ace a call if a deep postseason run feels possible. Also, injuries are bound to happen as pitchers adjust from 60 games to 162. The team added Matt Moore and Chase Anderson to its rotation, and has Spencer Howard and Vince Velasquez as backups, but there is not much depth beyond those four.