Phillies avoid arbitration with Rhys Hoskins, 2 others

The Phillies have avoided arbitration with their three remaining eligible players.

The Philadelphia Phillies will not head to an arbitration hearing with any of their three remaining eligible players — left-hander reliever Jose Alvarado, first baseman Rhys Hoskins, and right-handed starting pitcher Vince Velasquez.

Ahead of Friday’s deadline 1 p.m. deadline, the Phillies extended contract offers to the three players, which agreed to one-year contracts for the 2021 season. Alvarado will make $1 million, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray, while Hoskins and Velasquez will make $4.8 million and $4 million, respectively, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury.

Hoskins and Velasquez were the only two of the Phillies’ more than half-dozen arbitration-eligible players who had yet to avoid arbitration. Before the December 2 deadline to tender a contract to these players, the Phillies inked one-year deals with right-handed relievers Seranthony Dominguez, David Hale, and Hector Neris, right-handed starting pitcher Zach Eflin, and catcher Andrew Knapp.

Alvarado was since traded to the Phillies from the Tampa Bay Rays, but still was eligible for arbitration — only if he and the Phillies could not agree to a deal before Friday’s 1 p.m. deadline. That will not be the case, as he will just earn seven figures in his first season in red pinstripes.

MLB Trade Rumors projected this past fall that Hoskins would have earned somewhere between $3.4 million and $5.5 million in arbitration, and Velasquez between $3.8 and $4.8 million. For Alvarado, who was a member of the Rays at the time, he was projected to earn between $1 million and $1.1 million. Hoskins and Velasquez earned nearly exactly the average of the low and highs, while Alvarado earned almost the exact projection.

This offseason is progressing fast, and several moves still have to be made. While it was never thought that neither Alvarado, Hoskins, and Velasquez would not be a member of the Phillies next season, given their arbitration status, it is nice to know their 2021 salary figures are now set — giving president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and GM Sam Fuld a clear understanding of just how much they have left to spend to improve the roster.