With the offseason just getting ramped up, Monday's 5 p.m. ET deadline passed quietly for the Philadelphia Phillies, unfortunately. That was when Major League Baseball free agents officially hit the open market.
The Phillies had three players go to free agency this offseason: starter Spencer Turnbull and relievers Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez. The latter two, both high-leverage relievers, will be the most coveted.
They all technically became free agents the day following the conclusion of the World Series. The Phillies had five days of exclusive rights to talk to and re-sign them before Monday's deadline. They were, obviously, unable to get a deal done with either of the relievers, much to Phillies fans' chagrin.
Phillies' first offseason mistake sees free agents Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez both head to the open market
Not being able to bring at least one of the high-leverage relievers back before they hit the open market is a mistake. Although, to be fair, it's not entirely in president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and general manager Sam Fuld's control. Both Hoffman and Estévez are smart to be testing the free agent market, to see what's offered their way.
Fans yearning for a quick reunion with Hoffman, who resurrected his career and made a name for himself in Philadelphia over the past two seasons, will have to wait a little longer. There's no guarantee that the 31-year-old will return to the Phillies, despite Hoffman saying on multiple occasions how much he'd like to return.
Hoffman will have plenty of suitors on the open market looking to bolster their late-inning bullpen. Over the past two seasons, the right-hander has pitched to a 2.28 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with 158 strikeouts over 118 2/3 innings. He picked up 10 saves in 13 chances with 21 holds this past season, and was a big reason why the bullpen was considered a strength heading into the playoffs.
Estévez only spent two months in red pinstripes but performed how the front office likely expected — save for that errant pitch to Francisco Lindor in Game 4 of the NLDS. After the season, Dombrowski expressed how much he liked the trade deadline addition, which tracks since he hinted at wanting to bring Estévez back immediately after acquiring the hulking right-hander.
The 31-year-old finished the year with a 2.45 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 50 strikeouts in 55 innings split between the Los Angeles Angels and the Phillies. He amassed 26 saves in 31 attempts.
Spotrac puts Hoffman's market value at $12.36 million over two years ($6.2 million per year), while Estévez's value projects at $42 million over three years ($14 million per year) total. With the Phillies unable to lock one of them down early, both hurlers could easily see those numbers climb once multiple teams start bidding for their services, making it less likely that either pitcher will return to Philadelphia in 2025.