The Phillies have some interesting arbitration decisions to make this offseason
Now that the Philadelphia Phillies' season is officially over the front office will begin to plan the offseason. Many fans like to watch and hope for big trades or signings, but some of the most important offseason moves come from arbitration.
The Phillies have eight players who are arbitration eligible — players who have accrued at least three years of MLB service time but less than six years — heading into the winter. Some are likely going to be offered significant raises in their contracts, others may receive the league average salary for 2024, and others may be non-tendered, or not offered a deal at all.
MLB Trade Rumors put out their list of Phillies' players who are up for arbitration this season and an estimate of their potential 2024 salary.
Phillies arbitration-eligible players:
- Jeff Hoffman, $2.1 million
- Ranger Suárez, $4.7 million
- Gregory Soto, $4.9 million
- Jake Cave, $1.4 million
- Edmundo Sosa, $1.7 million
- Dylan Covey, $1 million
- Garrett Stubbs, $900 thousand
- Alec Bohm, $4.3 million
Each player on the list contributed to the Phillies at some point in the 2023 season. None of these salaries will break the bank for the club, however, some players are worth keeping — and maybe even extending through their remaining arbitration years — and some are not worth bringing back.
The front office, the players and their agents will attempt to negotiate deals that will benefit both the club and the player. The team can offer a contract to the player, and if the player finds the deal acceptable, they will avoid arbitration and settle on that contract. If a player feels that they are worth more than the team is offering, they can wait it out and exchange figures with the team.
If no deal is reached, the team and player will go to a hearing with an independent arbiter who decides what the new salary will be. There is no meeting in the middle at that point; the arbiter chooses the player's side or the club's side.
Let's look at which players should be back and which players should not be tendered a contract.