On Wednesday night at 8 P.M., the Phillies along with every other MLB team faced the non-tender deadline. Teams were faced with the choice of offering arbitration-eligible players a contract or letting them go.
The Phillies tendered all of their eligible players a contract, including a controversial decision to offer Vince Velasquez one. Seranthony Dominguez, Zach Eflin, David Hale, Andrew Knapp, Hector Neris, and Rhys Hoskins will all be back on the team in 2021.
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Other teams cut ties with some of their arbitration-eligible players, some surprisingly so. Because of this, there's a bit more bread on the selves before the blizzard hits.
Several players with All-Star potential now find themselves without a home. The Phillies would be fools not to explore this new market of players. Some of them are even advertising their new status.
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Who should the Phillies Sign?
Let's start off with the self-proclaimed free agent himself, Archie Bradley.
Bradley fits perfectly into the Phillies' biggest need: Late inning bullpen help. Since 2017, he sports a 2.95 ERA between the Diamondbacks and the Reds. Coincidentally in 2020, Bradley posted a 2.95 ERA between the Diamondbacks and the Reds.
He usually averages 96 MPH on his fastball, although in 2020 it averaged a tick above 94 MPH. This could be due to the unusual nature of the 2020 season. With a career 9.3 K/9, he'd be a welcome addition to the back end of the Phillies' bullpen.
Another hard-throwing righty the Phillies could take a look at is Ryne Stanek. Stanek is very much a tale of two cities. In Tampa Bay, he was known as one of the original openers in baseball history. He posted a 3.55 ERA with the Rays, opening 56 games for them. As the opener, he posted a 2.71 ERA.
He changed with the Miami Marlins. His ERA in parts of 2 seasons ballooned to 6.03. He only pitched 31.1 innings for the fish, so this is a small sample size. His career 10.9 K/9 rate should be interesting enough for the Phillies to take a flier on him.
Although not guaranteed to start the season, John Brebbia should be on the Phillies' radar. With a career ERA just around PI (3.14) and a K/9 over 10, he certainly would be a welcome addition to the Phillies. He is coming off of Tommy John surgery, however.
In the hitter department, there are only a couple of candidates for the Phillies without knowing if they'll have a DH or not.
The riskiest but possible biggest payoff would be Danny Santana. In 2019, Santana looked to be a big breakout start for the Texas Rangers. He slashed .283/.324/.534 with 28 home runs (15 more than his career total up to that point).
Outside of 2019, Santana's career has been unremarkable, hold for his rookie season. He's a utility man through and through, playing every position besides pitcher and catcher in 2019. He'd be a steal if and only if 2019 wasn't a fluke.
The only other player that fits the Phillies at the moment is David Dahl.
In 2019, Dahl was an All-Star with the Colorado Rockies. He slashed .302/.353/.524 that season. It wasn't much of a surprise either, as he slashed .293/.341/.518 his previous 2 seasons.
Like all of us, 2020 was not Dahl's year. He posted an OPS+ of 19 in just 24 games. He will most likely to better than that in 2021. He can also play center field which is a spot the Phillies could look to improve. However, he isn't very good defensively, posting a negative dWAR every year of his career.
Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire
