Phillies‘ GM Ruben Amaro Jr. came up through the ranks of the Phillies front office as a salary negotiating specialist, as did Assistant GM Scott Proefrock.

That’s good because they have a lot of negotiating on their plate as there are eight Phillies’ players eligible for arbitration starting yesterday, January 5.

The biggest names are pitcher Cole Hamels and now the perennially arbitration eligible slugger Ryan Howard. This will be Howard’s third year of arbitration, while it is Hamels’ first.

Both Hamels and Howard would be huge lockups if the Phillies could negotiate a good long term deal for both. That being said, signing either player is not a major priority for the club, as they are both under contract until 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Howard won his arbitration contest last year, garnering himself $10 million for the 2008 campaign. He followed up that victory with 48 homeruns and 146 RBIs, as well as a second place finish for what would have been his second MVP award in three years. Chances are that the Phillies will not be able to sign Howard to a long term deal and will eventually lose him to free agency or a trade. The Yankees’ recent signing of first baseman Mark Teixeira for eight years and a total of $180 million has essentially ensured that Howard will be too expensive for all but a select few teams when he is a free agent after the 2011 season.

Consider this: Howard has better numbers than Teixeira in HR, RBI, BB, R, SLG and OBP. The only two categories where Teixeira averages better numbers is hits (176-164) and batting average (.290 – .279). Howard averages 14 more homeruns a year and 20 more RBIs a year than Teixeira, not to mention an average of 15 more walks a season. Howard, in just four (mostly) full seasons, has won the Rookie of the Year award, been named the National League’s Most Valuable Player, came in second place for another MVP, won the Home Run Derby, almost single handily carried his team into the playoffs with the best September in Phillies history (beating out the likes of lowly Mike Schmidt), and has a World Series Championship ring on his finger. Howard has the single season record for homeruns by a Phillie; he has the single season record for homeruns by a sophmore player and is just the second batter to ever hit 50 homeruns in his second season; his 41 RBIs in August of 2006 were the most in a month since Frank Howard hit 41 in 1962; and he is the fastest player to ever reach the 100-homerun mark (325 games), eclipsing the previous record by 60 games.

So I think it is probably safe to say that Howard is going to command a contract the likes of which have never been seen before, and one that will almost certainly be out of the Phillies’ price range. Hamels, on the other hand, could very well be had for a reasonable and fair price if the Phillies chose to pursue that avenue now. Hamels made just $500,000 last season, which he was publicly disgruntled over. Look for the Phillies to offer him, at the very least, arbitration worth more than the $4 million Yankees’ young stud Chien Ming Wang was awarded when he lost arbitration last year. If the Phillies’ offense was more consistent with Hamels on the mound, he could have very well been a 20-game winner and serious contender for the NL Cy-Young award. Instead, Hamels led the league in innings pitched, was tops in strikeouts and ERA, and was the NLCS and World Series MVP, a feat accomplished just four other times in major league history. Hamels joins the ranks of Willie Stargell in 1979, Darrell Porter in 1982, Orel Hershiser in 1988, and Livan Hernandez in 1997.

Hamels has firmly cemented his place as a premier pitcher in the major leagues, but he is young enough that the Phillies could sign him without breaking the bank with a CC Sabathia-type contract. Look for the Phillies to put together a deal with Hamels, or to at least start laying the groundwork with an appropriate arbitration offer.

“I’m sure as we move forward down the road we’ll have some kind of conversation,”  said Hamels’ agent John Boggs. “We’ll consider anything they have to offer, but at the same time we aren’t conceding our rights [as arbitration eligible].”

The other players up for arbitration this offseason are outfielders Jason Werth and Shane Victorino, pitchers Joe Blanton, Ryan Madson, and Chad Durbin, as well as pinch hitting specialist Greg Dobbs.

I would expect the Phillies to try and negotiate deals with Werth, Victorino, and Dobbs. Werth and Victorino have cemented themselves as the every day right and center fielders, respectively. Dobbs is the best bench player on the team, and is a viable replacement at third base should Pedro Feliz get injured.

Amaro will probably want to see some more of Blanton before he locks him up to a long term deal, so if he has a good year this year, I would expect them to work something out next offseason. While Madson had a very good second half last year, and an even better playoffs, it is the first time in his career that he has put up good numbers consistently. In addition, Madson is rumored to view himself potentially as a major league closer and would like to take his shop himself around as such when he is a free agent next year.

Durbin was an important part of the bullpen last year, the best in the National League, but seemed to run out of steam down the stretch. The Phillies may make him a two-year offer, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they just offered him arbitration to see how things go this season before committing too seriously to him.

“I think each one of them is an individual case,” Proefrock said. “We look at the circumstances and react accordingly to what our long-term plans are for a particular player.”

They have already settled with three players last month who would have been arbitration eligible, signing utility infielder Eric Bruntlett and reliever Clay Condrey to one year deals, as well as non-tendering and re-signing reliever Scott Mathieson.