A look at the Phillies’ free agents and arbitration players originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The morning after the World Series ends, a five-day window opens in which teams can negotiate exclusively with their own free agents. Once the five days are up, players are free to sign anywhere.
The Phillies’ two most notable free agents are Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said earlier this month that the team is unlikely to retain either. All are expected to sign multi-year deals with an annual average value of $12 million or more.
Spencer Turnbull will also be a free agent, but that’s it in terms of the Phillies major leagues.
The Phillies have nine players eligible for salary arbitration and their most likely non-tender before the late November deadline is outfielder Austin Hays, who made $6.3 million last season and could be headed for a similar salary.
The other eight eligible for arbitration are Ranger Suarez, Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh, Edmundo Sosa, Kolby Allard, Garrett Stubbs and Jose Ruiz.
Most players have three years of arbitration eligibility before reaching free agency, with some receiving an additional fourth year based on service time.
For Suarez and Hays, this is the last year of arbitration before free agency.
For Bohm, Sosa, Allard, Stubbs and Ruiz the year is 2 of 3.
It is the first time for Stott and Marsh.
Stott and Marsh should receive significant pay increases. They each made just under $770,000 last season and estimate they would be in the $3-3.5 million range through arbitration.
Suarez should see his salary increase to $8 million from $5.05 million last season, although the Phillies could also negotiate an extension.
Bohm’s $4 million salary starting in 2024 will likely double.
Sosa was $1.7 million last year and should be closer to $3 million this time around.
Ruiz will almost certainly continue as a cheap and controllable reliever making less than $2 million.
Then there’s Allard and Stubbs, both of whom would be looking at salaries hovering around $1 million. They may be expendable at a lower number, especially if the Phillies move on with Rafael Marchan as the backup catcher for JT Realmuto.
Teams and players must exchange arbitration figures by mid-January. The hearings will take place in February unless an agreement is reached earlier. If the case goes to arbitration, a panel will rule in favor of the player or team.
The Phillies avoided arbitration last season with all of their eligible players except Bohm. They offered him $3.4 million, he countered at $4 million and won. Last year marked the first time since 2019 that more players won their cases than teams.
