Cole Hamels open to short-term trade

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At 13 games under .500 and in last place at the All-Star Break, the Philadelphia Phillies are likely to be sellers at the trade deadline, and pitcher Cole Hamels said this week that if he were traded it would not hurt the Phillies' chances of signing him next season.

Hamels, 28, is in the last year of his contract.

"It's an organization and I understand the business side and I won't be offended," if he's traded, Hamels said in an interview with CSNPhilly.com. "I think you need to know your players and because I think I've been here long enough, I think (the front office) pretty much understands my personality and they know that if something had to arise, I wouldn't be offended and I still would give them the benefit of the doubt and come back, because this is one of the best organizations I've ever seen."

Hamels said he would explore free agency if he did not finish the 2012 season with the Phillies.

"Not everybody gets to experience free agency and if you have an option to do it, why not do it?" Hamels told the website. "Because if you do it, okay, you got to see what sort of hoopla is surrounding it and then you can always go back to the team that you originally wanted to be with to begin with. So, I don't think it's anything that's too harsh."

Hamels, who is from San Diego, also said playing for the Dodgers would hold a special appeal.

"It's going home, I mean, that's pretty much it," he told CSNPhilly.com "I know the West Coast really well. I pitch really well on the West Coast. I think it's appealing to every player when they're growing up that, one day, hoping they can play in the major leagues, it's always to play for your home team. Even though the Padres were obviously the home team I grew up with, the Dodgers were kind of there neck and neck, so I think that's the closest home team I would ever get to."

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