Email a copy of 'Jeremy Hellickson Accepts Qualifying Offer' to a friend
Loading ...
By Steve Adams | at
Email a copy of 'Jeremy Hellickson Accepts Qualifying Offer' to a friend
MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com
hide arrows scroll to top
raef715
CRAP
bravesfan
dumb
tim815
Dumb, which?
Offering it? Or accepting it?
If he does well this season, both sides win on the gamble.
natesp4
Even if he stinks this year I’d hardly call it a gamble. $17 million for one year of baseball is a lot of money. Especially when it exceeds his career earnings to this point. Doesn’t matter what he makes after that.
flyerzfan12
Somewhat surprised by this because of the lack of SP on the FA market, but not surprised since I’m sure most teams that showed interest didn’t think he was worth the contract and losing a draft pick. Welcome back Jeremy!
dtipres
That’s a nice raise for a guy who had an okay season but nothing special.
Francisco
Huge overpay for a team going nowhere in 2017. Only hope is he can be as good as he was in 16 which probably is a reach and then deal him in July when they are 15 games out.
tim815
Or, if he has another good season, give him another QO and he bolts.
virginiascopist
There is a chance, with the new CBA, there won’t be qualifying offers next year.
cardfan2011
WHOA!!!! lol ok wasn’t expecting that! So that thins an already thin pitching free agent market
nailz#4life
Will be one of the richer Opening day starters this year. Hey he gets big money on a no name team, so now he can sit back and live the high life under very little stress- even if he sucks because no one will notice- as this team is going nowhere next season. Smart move Boras
tylerall5
Too much money to leave on the table. Smart move on his part.
krillin
Any chance Philly offered the QO thinking he wouldn’t accept? Just to cause someone to use a draft pick?
rivera42
Of course that was their thinking. They got burned though. Not surprised that he accepted. He was probably getting offered 2/30 or 3/40 type of deals and 1/17 made more sense.
Tim Dierkes
I think 3/40 would have been better than one year and 17.2 mil, for a guy like him.
teufelshunde4
If he had 3/40 on table he would have taken it..
Not a bad decision on his part on QO.
teufelshunde4
If he had 3/40 on table he would have taken it..
Not a bad decision on his part on QO.o.
therealryan
My guess is that the market probably valued him somewhere around 3/$42, but then would want to take $10-$15 million off of that for the QO. That means he was probably getting offers around 3/$27 and decided that the 1/$17.2mm was a better deal.
Cam
They absolutely offered it thinking and hoping he wouldn’t accept. They don’t have a lot of use for a 3/4 starter for 1 year/17mil, coming off his best year in ages, while they rebuild.
Dark_Knight
Definite one year over pay but worth the risk.
If he repeats the season he had in 2016 he’s more attractive at this year’s deadline than he was at last year’s deadline. Phillies could eat a ton of money and flip him for similar value to that pick.
bravesfanmatt
Ha, the Faillies are so dumb. of course he was going to take the 17 million. He got a 10 million dollar raise.. that is life changing money and even if he is bad next year he will still get a nice contract because he won’t have a QO attached to his name. He is looking at what guys who don’t have QO attached and even the crap is getting good money.
BoldyMinnesota
They overplayed a little bit for a good pitcher
qbass187
Of course he is
woodhead1986
it was a no lose for the Phils. worst case scenario; he sucks on a sucky team and then he’s gone. Best case; he has a continuation of last season, and becomes a decent trade chip. No such thing as a bad 1 year deal, especially when they have plenty of room in their budget. No idea why so many people are freaking out over this.
Travis’ Wood
It’s not bad because of the salary it’s bad because of the loss of a draft pick. Not only do they not receive a pick, they lose the bonus pool money that comes with it.
aff10
Obviously they would have preferred that he not accept, but there was no downside to offering the QO
JT19
But if they don’t offer him a QO, they can’t get the pick or bonus pool money. They aren’t really losing a draft pick or pool money, they’re missing out on a chance to acquire another pick and more money by him accepting, but again, there’s really nothing they could do to prevent that.
JT19
This. The Phillies have enough money to make this risk. As you stated, worst case, he sucks and he’s gone in a year. Best Case 1, he plays well and they trade him. Best Case 2, he plays well and they hit him with another QO (if they can’t trade him again) and maybe they get a pick. Teams like the Royals, Rays, A’s can’t take this risk because they can’t afford the committment, but the Phillies can.
oldoak33
Top two FA starters this year going into a much stronger FA market next year. I’m not trying to discredit his talent or ability, but this year’s performance and market were about as good as it could’ve been for Jeremy.
“Guaranteed money”? If you want to talk guaranteed money Hellickson’s floor was the QO amount. There was likely double the QO amount out there after the first phone call in “guaranteed money”.
aff10
I assume they surveyed the market and found that that wasn’t there. Mediocre players can sometimes get tied down by the QO, and, while he certainly doesn’t have to exceed $17 million AAV to reject, if he was getting offers like 2/22, he has to accept. He’s a decent pitcher, and a nice guy to have in a rotation, but he’s guy limited upside, and I think the fact that the Phillies didn’t find a real offer for him at the deadline suggests that the league isn’t really buying in yet. If he does it again next year, he’s probably looking at $70-80 million
oldoak33
Bartolo Colon just got $12.5MM on a one year and Dickey got eight. Jesse Chavez got $5.75MM. I find it almost impossible to believe there were not multiple 3/30 deals out there minimum.
jmi1950
Scott Boras has a little more insight into the market and obviously disagrees.
oldoak33
Scott Boras had his eyes on $17MM on a one year for a middle of the rotation guy.
Adam 17
I would think his best offer was probably about 3/$33MM for an $11MM AAV. If you take the QO you’re only betting that after this year you can at least find a 2/$15.8MM offer to come out in the same position. That’s less than Mike Pelfrey money got when he was two years older, after Pelfrey was a total disaster for three years with the Twins. There are numerous other examples of pitchers exceeding a 2/$15.8MM contract with even Hellickson’s historical level of production. This gives him the chance to come out ahead if he puts together another year like he had in 2016, with very little downside risk except for a major injury.
stymeedone
I called this when he was offered the QO. What Boras and Jeremy quickly figured out is that no team was going to prioritize giving up a pick to sign him. It doesn’t matter that he was among the top Free Agents, because he still is a mediocre starter. Teams were going to look at every other option before signing him. If they couldn’t make a trade, they would look in=house, and that may mean waiting into spring training for someone to get desperate.
AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres
Didn’t stop Ian Kennedy from taking the QO in a much more loaded free agent class last year
Senioreditor
Maybe they move him now?
MB923
I don’t think they can until June.
stymeedone
Who would want him at that salary?
vtadave
Large market teams that know they can just take on the contract and not give up much in return.
aff10
Unsurprising IMO. He’s a back-of-the-rotation type, and I think that draft pick compensation would have affected him greatly. All in all, though, I believe Klentak when he said that he’d be happy either way. Hellickson gives them a bit more certainty in a young rotation, can be traded if they fall out of contention, and it’s not exactly a huge risk given their payroll flexibility
bobtillman
The Phils are likely surprised, but they can afford the hit. So instead of a draft pick, they can flip him at the trade deadline for a prospect(s); either way, they get SOMETHING back…..
Like everyone, my surprise is that he decided to stay. Calling him a “back of rotation” guy is generous. At least in terms of what he’s shown. Now, some do improve late, so there’s a hope there.
Just confusing he’s staying, considering he’ll go from belle of the ball this year to a wall-flower praying for some attention next.
DelUnser4ever
Exactly how is calling him a back of the rotation guy generous? That’s exactly what he is.
jmi1950
1. He can not be traded until June 15.
2. Scott Boras is his agent, so I think Boras knows what the market is like.
3. There may be no QO next year. Even if there is a QO in the new CBA if he is traded there will be no QO.
sirrichard1975
$91,000 per inning if he pitches 189 innings again next season. That’s a nice chunk of change
Ed Charles
Guys; not worth 1.7 million let alone 17 million. He’s a 5th or 5th starter at best, that gets you 17 million ? Financial structure is a** backwards
Cam
A 5th starter is worth plenty more than 1.7 million. 180 league average innings is worth money – that’s 3/4 starter territory. Even with regression, 1.7 mil is chump change.
Lance
how many #5’s pitched 189 innings, under 4 ERA and won 12 games for a lousy team? He did a good job for PHIL. SOMEONE has to pitch those innings.
Brixton
In a world where Ian Kennedy gets 80M, Mike Leake gets 85M, Samardzija gets 90M, Hellickson for 1/17M isn’t that bad especially for a team that can gamble on a repeat season. They don’t owe much money to anyone. I’d rather have the draft pick, but who cares if he accepts. If he declines, the next highest pitcher in terms of MLB innings is Adam Morgan
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
That samardzija contract will bite the giants in the ace. I guarantee he will not finish that contract with the giants. I said this last year when he got overpaid by 50mil. He’s at best a #4.
SupremeZeus
$17.2. No-Brainer.
renegadescoach
It’s all good. It was a win/win situation for the Phillies. If he declined, ok. They get a draft pick. If he accepted, ok. They have the veteran SP they needed to get anyway. The amount he’s going to get paid next season makes absolutely no difference to them. They’ve got money to burn. Heck, Matt Harrison will probably never throw a pitch for them, and they owe him another $15.25 MM. And guess what: they’re fine with that. Including him in the Hamels deal allowed them to get a better package of prospects. Sometimes, a rebuilding team has to do things like this to get back to where they want to be. I think, in the end, the Phillies will find themselves in a pretty good spot. I believe it says something about an organization when a free agent starting pitcher has an opportunity to make a mint with several contending teams, yet chooses to stay with the club he’s on. He said all along that he likes being a Phillie. Looks like he meant it.
MatthewBaltimore23
I get taking the 17.2 mil after your first good season, but he probably should have looked for a multi year deal because he will most likely have regression.
Joeycalexc
Only issue here is this keeps another young arm in AAA to start season but otherwise need one veteran starter on that staff.
renegadescoach
The Phillies have said all along that they will have a veteran starter to head the rotation. If not Hellickson, it would’ve been someone else like Fister. They saw last year that you can never have enough pitching.
phillies012tg
I like this a lot because hopefully we get something out of him at the deadline this year. We need a veteran in the rotation this year the young arms can’t do it all alone. It is unfortunate a young arm stays down but maybe we could send a young arm or two in trades. I’m okay with this.
bbatardo
I think it was a good move, 17.2 mill is not chump change and if he has another decent year he will still be in line for a multi year deal. If he has a bad year, at least he got his 17.2 mill and won’t have another QO hanging over his head.
New Law Era
I think this was a no brainer. If he repeats next year, he’ll get a multiyear offer. Probably less aav, but still good enough. If he doesn’t repeat, then he doesn’t get QO (if it still exists). No QO over his head, someone will give him a contract anyway (barring injury or seriously disastrous results) and slots him as a 5th man in the rotation to chew up innings. Good move on his part to accept.
MiddleIn
$ is a non-factor for this team. Now has two chips at deadline with Kendrick and Hellickson. Need to overpay again for another vet. Easier way to stockpile prospects.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Over/under 70% he’s traded at the deadline?
NineChampionsips
Strange gamble by Helli. He was easily one of the 3 best SP available this year and now he’s heading into next years extremely crowded free agent class. I like the gamble though, he must be confident in his stuff and having another solid year. Gotta like that in a player.
greatgame 2
Smart move. Grab the big money while he can. He’s not that good.
willi
Good number three / four starter , but 17 million is an overpay !
raef715
phils have lots of money and nothing to spend on it, so that part of it is of no real consequence.
AndThisGameBelongsToMySanDiegoPadres
Ok so I guess the Phillies will trade him and some cash at this summer’s deadline. Having a veteran starter around to soak up innings for the first half of the season isn’t the worst outcome for them, even if they have to pay a premium for it.
halos101
anyone saying he should’ve hit the market is wrong. 17 million is more than any aav he would’ve gotten. and 17 million is a ton of money. collect it while you can and pitch for your next contract
mike156
Another example why the QO system is flawed. He’s a solid pitcher–but with a career ERA+of 101.. he had three consecutive rough years from 2013-2015. By no stretch of the imagination is the the type of guy who is irreplaceable that he needs to have this albatross around his neck. For first tier players, I can see the argument. Not for this level of performance,
Philliesfan4life
This was a good sign for the phillies, Hellickson had a solid season last year, was their most consistent starter. But I was hoping the angels would take a chance on him.
bartoloshomie
If he regresses, a lot more millions will be left on the table. I think he would have found a taker esp in this pitching market.