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With Josh Hamilton still on the market, could the Phillies land him?

The Phillies' assistant general manager wouldn't exactly divulge that answer.

Ezra Shaw

It seems to be a perfect match.

The Philadelphia Phillies need an outfielder. The best free agent available is an outfielder. The Phillies need some offense. This outfielder is pretty much guaranteed to give you a whole lot of offense.

But are the Phillies going to lock down Josh Hamilton to a big deal?

Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock didn't quite say yes, but he did sound enamored with the former American League MVP, writes Jake Kaplan of CSN Philly:

Though he didn't divulge the Phillies' plans, Proefrock had extremely high praise for Hamilton. When Hamilton was drafted first overall by Tampa Bay in 1999, Proefrock was the organization's assistant GM.

"I can still remember the first spring training that he was in major league camp," Proefrock said. "I think he was 18 years old at the time and (then Devil Rays manager) Larry Rothschild was dying to keep him on the club. He's the most talented player I've ever seen in my 25 years in the game."

"Any team would be better for having him on the club," he continued. "Whether it's a fit for us remains to be seen."

After an 81-81 season and a third place finish in the N.L. East, Hamilton would certainly make the Phillies a contender again. Hamilton was an MVP contender himself last season, batting .285/.354/.577 with 43 home runs and 128 RBIs.

Hamilton was the MVP in 2010 when he hit .359 with a 1.044 OPS. He hit 32 home runs in 133 games while leading the Texas Rangers to a World Series appearance.