Jeremy Hellickson has been a revelation in his first season with the Philadelphia Phillies, so much so that the team could pursue keeping the 29-year-old around on a new deal.

The Phils want to re-sign Hellickson before he hits free agency this offseason, and the right-hander is also showing signs that he’d like to stay in Philadelphia, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports.

Hellickson is 12-10 this season with a 3.78 ERA. There was a lot of interest surrounding the former rookie of the year ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline, but the Phillies opted to instead keep him with the idea of extending a qualifying offer his way in case he doesn't re-sign.

As Cafardo notes, the free-agent pitching market is expected to be notably weak, which could motivate Hellickson to explore his options and see if any teams will be willing to overpay for his services on the open market.

-- Kyle Brasseur