With that in mind, the Phillies made sure to keep their ace around for a while. On Sunday, Philadelphia inked left-hander Cole Hamels to a three-year, $20.5 million contract.

"Cole has been an integral part of our club," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "Based on his 2008 and postseason performance, he has established himself as a true number one starter."

Hamels, who was pretty much unhittable through the Phillies' run in October, will make $4.35 million in 2009, $6.65 million in '10 and $9.5 million in '11.

"I am very appreciative of the way this process was able to turn out," Hamels said -- alongside assistant general manager Scott Proefrock -- at a news conference to announce the deal on Sunday afternoon.

With Hamels' signing, the Phillies have six remaining arbitration-eligible players, with slugger Ryan Howard being the biggest name.

In his third big league season, the 25-year-old Hamels continued to show he's one of the best young pitchers in the game, going 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA in 33 starts and 227 1/3 innings. En route to the Phillies winning their first World Series title since 1980, the San Diego native went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five postseason starts.

Hamels' base salary will jump $500,000 in any season after he wins a Cy Young Award, and by $250,000 if he finishes second or third in the voting.

The deal buys out the first three years of salary arbitration for Hamels. After his contract expires, he will be arbitration-eligible for one more season before becoming a free agent.

During a brief Q&A session moderated by ESPN 950 while making an appearance in Atlantic City, N.J., on Friday night, Hamels was asked by a fan if he would consider leaving the team when he achieved free-agent status after the 2012 season.

"I'll be here for a really long time," the Most Valuable Player of the National League Championship Series and World Series replied, according to The Philadelphia Daily News. "That's something I really want to do."

Along with Howard, the Phillies also have Ryan Madson, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Chad Durbin and Joe Blanton left as possible arbitration cases. Utilityman Greg Dobbs agreed to a two-year deal on Friday.