Ruben Amaro Jr. still has his notes.
Someday, maybe if he ever writes a book, he might divulge them. For now, though, he doesn’t mind sharing that he had serious discussions with the Los Angeles Dodgers “about some players we’d love to have acquired” and 11th-hour talks with the Houston Astros before finally trading Cole Hamels to the Texas Rangers three years ago in the biggest, boldest move of a painful Phillies rebuild.
Looking back, Amaro doesn’t wish he’d made a different deal. But he does have regrets from seven seasons as general manager of the Phillies.