Phillies sizing up arbitration decisions before Friday deadline
By John Town
The Phillies have to make some decisions with which players they want to tender contracts to before Friday night’s deadline.
By Friday at 8 p.m., the Phillies have to decide which arbitration-eligible players will be tendered contracts this offseason. Most players will be tendered, but there a few players who may or may not receive a deal.
The only player who definitely isn’t getting non-tendered is Justin Bour. He was waived by the team earlier this month. With Rhys Hoskins and Carlos Santana already the position, there is virtually no room for Bour to fit onto the roster. A trade was possible, but anyone interested likely wanted to just wait for him to become a free agent.
Two other players (Aaron Altherr and Luis Garcia) were listed as non-tender candidates by MLB Trade Rumors earlier this month. However, it doesn’t appear either will be non-tendered by the team. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia said Garcia will likely be offered a deal since he will still be cheap and the club has always liked his stuff.
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Meanwhile, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com wrote that Altherr has too much upside to the team to non-tender. He is still only a year removed from posting a .272/.340/.516 line with 19 home runs in 107 games. Altherr’s performance dropped off this year but he still could fit as a fourth outfielder.
One player not mentioned by MLBTR who could wind up being non-tendered is Luis Avilan.
Avilan was acquired late during the 2018 season and fills a hole as a lefty reliever. However, indications are the team is looking for a better lefty in free agency, like Andrew Miller or Zach Britton.
The arbitration-eligible players expected to be tendered a deal are Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez, Hector Neris, Adam Morgan, Cesar Hernandez, and Maikel Franco.
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Hernandez and Franco are two likely trade candidates this offseason with the team looking to make upgrades in the infield. Velasquez may wind up being the odd one out in the rotation depending on what the team does over the offseason.