Five non-tendered free agents for Phillies to consider
By John Town
Friday’s contract tender deadline came and went, putting some intriguing names on the market. Should the Phillies be interested in any of them?
Friday at 8 p.m. was the deadline for the Phillies and the other 29 major-league teams to tender contracts to all their arbitration-eligible players. These deals are non-guaranteed, so teams aren’t locked into the deals that they tender. Even with that stipulation, there are still some players teams decide not to tender contracts to.
The Phillies opted not to tender contracts to first baseman Justin Bour and relief pitcher Luis Avilan, two of their 11 arbitration-eligible players. Both were acquired in August waiver trades to help with the playoff push, but all the trades the team made were not enough to push them over the hump. Considering the construction of the roster, it simply was not worth it for the team to offer contracts to both, making them free agents.
Even though certain teams may decide that one player is not worth keeping on the roster, that does not mean every single team will. To use a cliche, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. A player not tendered a contract by his old team could very well find a role with his new team without much trouble. Keep in mind a player non-tendered by his old team cannot be re-signed by them during the same offseason.
With that now in mind, let’s break down five non-tendered free agents for the Phillies to consider bringing in this offseason.