5 non-tendered players Phillies should consider signing

1.  Jose Urena, right-handed starting pitcher

Fans should be familiar with the six-year veteran Jose Urena, who since his 2015 debut, has pitched 18 of his 142 career games opposite the Phillies.

The longtime Miami Marlins pitcher may be just 2-9 with a 6.50 ERA across as many games opposite the Atlanta Braves, and 3-6 with a 4.62 ERA against the Phillies, but he has found more success facing the New York Mets (5-6, 3.96 ERA, 17 games) and Washington Nationals (5-3, 3.66 ERA, 15 games).

If the Phillies want to address their need to acquire at least one starting pitcher this offseason, Urena just might be the most appealing among the non-tender free agent market. His best season so far came back in 2017, when across 34 appearances and 28 starts, he went 14-7 with a 3.82 ERA, 1.273 WHIP, and 113-64 strikeouts-to-walks ratio spanning 169 2/3 innings.

Since then, however, Urena has gone just 13-25 with a 4.47 ERA, 1.298 WHIP, and a 207-90 strikeouts-to-walks ratio spanning 282 innings. Across five starts in 2020 alone, the Dominican Republic native went 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA, despite being on an overachieving Marlins team.

It should be noted that Urena battled both COVID-19, as well as a right forearm injury in 2020; he was supposed to start in the season-opening series against the Phillies, but was scratched. Eventually, that led to the infamous postponement of games between both clubs at the onset of the 60-game slate. Ultimately, the Marlins rebounded, but the Phillies ultimately fell one game short of the postseason after playing multiple doubleheaders to make up for lost time.

The Marlins simply did not want to pay the 29-year-old, especially when they have other rotation options to go to, such as former Phillies prospect Sixto Sanchez.

Urena might be a risk the Phillies would be taking on, but they have plenty of experience facing him to know whether there is something there that can help him return to his strong 2017 season showing.