Record 59 non-tenders flood free agent market in MLB
It wasn’t the bloodbath players and agents feared, but the free agent marketplace became overstuffed Wednesday evening, with powerhitting left fielders feeling the brunt of baseball’s economic crunch.
A record 59 arbitration-eligible players were non-tendered, three more than a year ago. Fifty-nine signed one-year contracts. And there were two trades.
No position became more gutted than those power-hitting outfielders whose best position is their bat.
The Cubs non-tendered Kyle Schwarber, part of their core four of their 2016 World Series run. He hit 38 homers two years ago and has a career rate of 14.9 at-bats per homer, second only to Sammy Sosa (12.8) in franchise history.
But the Cubs worried about paying someone about $9 million after he hit .188 last season, particularly with no idea whether there will be a universal DH in 2021.
“Listen, he’s always going to be a Cubs legend,” team President Jed Hoyer told Chicago reporters. “That’s one of the things, when you draft and develop these guys, you build meaningful relationships with those guys, and it makes those conversations that much harder.”
The Twins had about five teams express interest in Eddie Rosario, but no one was willing to pay about $10 million for the left fielder, even after hitting 119 homers with 388 RBI since his 2015 debut. They placed him on outright waivers, he cleared in the afternoon and they did not offer him a contract, instead deciding to use the money for pitching while giving prized rookie Alex Kirilloff the opportunity to take the position.
The Braves have spent more than $30 million on free agent pitching, but outfielder Adam Duvall, who hit 16 homers – the fifth most in
MLB in 2020 – was cut loose. The White Sox let right fielder Nomar Mazara walk away along with pitcher Carlos Rodon. The Rockies didn’t want to spend about $2.5 million to retain injury-prone outfielder David Dahl, their 2012 first-round pick and 2019 All-Star who has missed 183 games the past two seasons. He could end up making a general manager look like a genius.
“It’s tough to say goodbye to guys, but there’s times when you have to for business reasons,” Rockies GM Jeff Bridich said. “There were a combination of those sorts of business reasons at play here for these decisions, based on what’s going on in the industry.”
Amid the coronavirus pandemic and games without fans, the industry lost about $3 billion this year, according to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, and there is uncertainty for 2021.
It’s still unknown how arbitrators will view salary arbitration in February: Whether they will act as if players’ 2020 stats in a 60-game shortened season even exist and instead rely on their 2018 and 2019 seasons.
It might not even be until the spring, officials forecast, when anyone knows whether there will be a universal DH. MLB officials will grant a DH if the union agrees to an expanded playoff format to 14 teams, but there has been little progress in the negotiations.
The cash-strapped Marlins certainly gambled on a DH in the National League next year, bringing back slugger Jesus Aguilar on a one-year, $4.35 million contract with $150,000 in incentives.
The only set of players protected by teams’ cost-cutting plans were starting pitching. The Mets signed Steven Matz to a one-year, $5.2 million contract after he went 0-5 with a 9.68 ERA. The Rockies hung on to Jon Gray despite his 6.69 ERA. And the Phillies are staying with Vince Velasquez, who is 19-28 with a 4.99 ERA in the last four seasons.
Twenty right-handed relievers hit the market, led by Archie Bradley of the Reds. He was acquired for the stretch run, but Cincinnati didn’t want to pay perhaps as much as $5.7 million, as MLB Trade Rumors projected in an arbitration award, to a reliever who would be used as a setup man despite his 2.95 ERA since 2017.
It didn’t stop the World Series champion Dodgers, however, from jumping on closer Corey Knebel, knowing the Brewers were going to non-tender him. The Dodgers agreed to acquire him for cash or a player to be named, despite his salary projected to be $5.125 million after pitching only 13 1⁄ innings because of
3 injuries since 2018.
Seven former top-10picks also hit the marketplace.
“This is a nightmare for the players’ association,” former pitcher Ron Darling said on MLB Network. “The one thing (former union chief ) Marvin Miller never wanted was a glut of players out on the free agent market.”
If you’re a team in need of a third baseman, Maikel Franco and Travis Shaw might be the perfect cheap fits.
Franco, non-tendered for the second consecutive year, played in every game with the Royals, hitting eight homers with a .778 OPS.
And Shaw, who earned $4 million with the Blue Jays, hit six homers with a .717 OPS.
No matter where you look or whatever your needs, there are now nearly 235 free agents on the open market.