Every year, MLB’s non-tender deadline sees clubs allow some of their players who remain under team control to test the open market early, whether it be due to an increasing price tag in arbitration or a need for additional space on the club’s 40-man roster. Earlier this evening, we discussed five hitters from this year’s crop of non-tendered players who could be worth keeping an eye on this winter. While none of those players can realistically be expected to follow in the footsteps of Cody Bellinger and Kyle Schwarber, who both re-established themselves as All-Star caliber players following their respective non-tenders, it wouldn’t be so shocking to see a player from this year’s crop of non-tendered arms emerge as a notable player at some point in the future.
The best player to be non-tendered last winter was right-hander Brandon Woodruff, who served as the co-ace of the Brewers rotation alongside Corbin Burnes for years but wound up missing the entire 2024 season as he rehabbed from shoulder surgery. Kevin Gausman stands out as another notable hurler who’s been non-tendered in recent memory, and the veteran right-hander has gone on to have a fabulous career after breaking out at the age of 29. Even if no player from this crop of arms reaches the heights Gausman has, finding an impactful reliever or even a quality starter in the non-tender pile is hardly unheard of. Just this past year, both Spencer Turnbull and Tim Hill went from non-tendered in November to pitching for playoff contenders in 2024. Could anyone from this year’s group of non-tenders follow in their footsteps? Without further ado, let’s take a look at five pitchers who hit free agency following last week’s non-tender deadline and could be worth keeping an eye on throughout the coming offseason. Players are listed in alphabetical order, with their age for the 2025 season in parentheses.
Kyle Finnegan (33)
Finnegan’s non-tender came as something of a shock, as the right-hander actually made his first career All-Star appearance this year. The righty has been a consistent, stable presence at the back of the Nationals’ bullpen throughout the rebuild, pitching to a 3.56 ERA (116 ERA+) overall with a 4.24 FIP and a 23.5% strikeout rate in his 290 1/3 innings of work. Finnegan’s spent much of his time with the club in the closer role as well, and has racked up 88 career saves in 109 opportunities for a conversion rate of 81%. Finnegan’s overall performance this year was roughly in line with his career norms, as he posted a 3.68 ERA and 4.24 FIP in 63 2/3 innings of work while racking up 38 saves in 43 opportunities this year.
Those frequent save opportunities over the years have increased Finnegan’s price tag in arbitration, and he was due to make $8.6MM in his final trip through the process this winter according to projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Aside from the high price tag, one other red flag that may have given the Nationals pause regarding their closer was how he wore down throughout the year. After posting an excellent 2.45 ERA and 3.98 FIP in 40 1/3 innings prior to the All-Star break, Finnegan’s final 24 appearances down the stretch saw him surrender a 5.79 ERA with a 4.71 FIP and a strikeout rate of just 16.4%. Despite that potential sign of trouble, though, Finnegan offers late-inning experience, consistent results, and an upper-90s fastball that should attract plenty of attention this winter.
Hoby Milner (34)
Left-handed relief options are always in demand, and Milner figures to receive attention on the free agent market as a southpaw with previous success in the majors if nothing else, even after the Brewers opted to non-tender him rather than pay his projected salary of $2.7MM for the 2025 season. That’s certainly a defensible decision given Milwaukee’s tight budget and Milner’s poor results this year. In 64 2/3 innings of work for the Brewers this year, Milner surrendered an ugly 4.73 ERA that was 11% worse than league average by measure of ERA+. With a heater that fails to break 90 mph, Milner hardly garners attention for his stuff, as well.
That’s not to say he couldn’t be a valuable contributor to a club’s bullpen, however. Rough as Milner’s 2024 campaign was, the underlying numbers were actually far kinder to the southpaw: He struck out a solid 23.9% of opponents while walking just 5.2%, and virtually every advanced metric was extremely bullish on the lefty’s performance this year as he posted a 3.14 FIP, a 3.08 SIERA, and a 3.15 in both xERA and xFIP. Milner also enjoyed the highest groundball rate of his career (51.9%), and may have been victimized by a shockingly low strand rate of just 58.1%. Looking at the three years Milner spent as a fixture of the Milwaukee bullpen from 2022 to 2024 paints the picture of a steady left-handed reliever who could improve plenty of bullpens around the league: in 193 2/3 innings during that time, he posted a 3.44 ERA with a 3.14 FIP overall. That track record should garner major league offers this winter, even if his lackluster season this past year may limit his earning potential.
Cal Quantrill (30)
Quantrill lands on this list by virtue of being the best bet among all non-tender candidates to make 30 big league starts in 2025. The right-hander found himself moved out of his previous organization in advance of the non-tender deadline for the second consecutive winter last week. After being designated for assignment by the Guardians in the days leading up to the deadline last year, the Rockies swung a trade to add him to their rotation. That experiment went fairly well, as Quantrill pitched to a solid if unspectacular 4.98 ERA (93 ERA+) with a 5.32 FIP. Ugly as those numbers look on paper, given the realities of pitching in Coors Field they’re generally consistent with Quantrill’s history as a roughly league average fifth starter.
The right-hander enjoyed a breakout campaign during the 2020 season that was split between Cleveland and San Diego, where he pitched to a 2.25 ERA in 32 innings while working out of the bullpen. He was used as a swing man in Cleveland the following year, and continued to dominate as he posted a 2.89 ERA (despite a pedestrian 4.07 FIP) in 149 2/3 innings of work in 2021. From 2022 onwards, he settled in as a permanent fixture of the rotation and has been a consistently average back-of-the-rotation arm with a 4.35 ERA (96 ERA+) and 4.68 FIP in 80 starts. Averaging more than 26 starts per year with a roughly league average ERA should be enough to earn Quantrill a look from a rotation-needy team this year, though it’s also possible a team could have interest in seeing if he can post stronger numbers out of the bullpen like he did earlier in his career.
Jordan Romano (32)
Romano was perhaps the non-tendered that garnered the most attention in the aftermath of last week’s non-tender deadline. A two-time All-Star, Romano has been the Blue Jays’ closer throughout the majority of their recent competitive window. From 2020 to 2023, the right-hander spun an incredible 2.29 ERA in 200 2/3 innings of work with a 30.8% strikeout rate and a 3.13 FIP. Among relievers with at least 160 innings of work during that time, Romano ranked third by ERA behind only Devin Williams and Emmanuel Clase. Unfortunately, the wheels came off completely for the righty in 2024 as he was shelled for 10 runs in 13 2/3 innings before undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery that wound up ending his season.
Terrible as Romano’s 2024 campaign was, it’s hard to imagine him not generating significant interest this winter. The right-hander was projected for a $7.75MM salary in his final trip through arbitration this winter, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see him land a similar deal in free agency if multiple clubs see him as a potential buy-low solution in the ninth inning given his strong numbers and 105 career saves in 113 chances (89% conversation rate). Romano’s market naturally still figures to be hampered at least to some extent by not just his struggles in 2024 but also questions surrounding his health. While he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training and have a normal offseason following his surgery this summer, some level of trepidation from clubs is to be expected after any elbow procedure.
Patrick Sandoval (28)
Sandoval stands as both the youngest player on this list and the one most likely to find success as a mid-rotation starter or better in the big leagues at some point in the future. The left-hander was traded from the Astros to the Angels as the return for catcher Martin Maldonado back in 2018, and the southpaw was in the big leagues the following year. While it took some time for Sandoval to get settled into the majors, he found success in a half season of work out of the rotation in 2021 and managed to build upon that with a breakout season the following year. In 2022, Sandoval pitched to an excellent 2.91 ERA with a 3.09 FIP in 148 2/3 innings of work. He struck out 23.7% of opponents and combined that with an excellent 47.4% grounder rate.
Unfortunately, Sandoval’s performance has slipped since then. 2023 was a step backwards for the lefty, as he posted a solid but relatively pedestrian 4.11 ERA (109 ERA+) with a 4.18 FIP in 144 2/3 innings of work. His strikeout rate dropped to just 19.3% that year, while his walk rate skyrocketed to 11.3%. Things took a turn for the worse this year, as he was shelled to the tune of a 5.08 ERA across 16 starts before undergoing Tommy John surgery back in June. That will leave him out of action until at least the second half of 2025, and that layoff combined with Sandoval’s recent lackluster performance made the Halos’ decision to part ways with him somewhat unsurprising. Even so, with Sandoval not scheduled to hit free agency until after the 2026 season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a club snap the lefty up on a two-year deal and be glad he did if he can revert to something closer to his 2022 form once he’s back on the mound.
If they can come cheaper than market, go get the former closers Dombrowski!
Relievers have such small sample sizes to be judged. It’s tough to predict what they will do year to year because of this. Finnegan I understand why he was let go because closers get paid for their saves and he’s really not that good he wouldn’t have been a closer on a better team. Romano is an injury risk. Relievers are the toughest place to spend money and know what to expect with the money spent.
Sandoval to Cleveland
Cleveland needs immediate help in the rotation. If they want an injured guy who can help later in the year they can simply bring Bieber back.
Not sure how the space is on CLE’s 40 man roster. But for any team without a log jam he would not be bad stash on a 2 yr deal. Would give Sandoval a bit of security as he works back and a high upside low AAV option.
I’d rather CLE not do this though, I’d prefer it to be the Tigers.
This article is sponsored by the Dumpster Rentals department of Waste Management, Inc.
Don’t underestimate and ridicule some of these pitchers who have been non-tendered, especially when they were non-tendered because of an injury. One of the greatest non-tendered signings of MLB history was Chris Carpenter. The Cardinals signed Carpenter after the Blue Jays non-tendered him while he was recovering from a surgery following the 2002 season. Carpenter missed the entire 2003 season, but then was an ace for the Cardinals during their NL Championship season of 2004, World Series Championship season of 2006, and World Championship season of 2011.
That was a joke. Great fact thou ! Thx for sharing
And Ha ! Sounds like a blue jay move !
Joke doesn’t make any sense. Not really a joke.
That was at the least 13 years ago
Well said. Carpenter ended up giving the Birds more than 1/3 of a Hall of Fame Career over 9 seasons:
197 starts, 1350 innings, 3.07 ERA, 133 ERA+, 3.28 FIP.
My good ol Red Sox will probably be diving again as shown in the past few years!
RS should be at least able to come to terms with Kyle Gibson. You don’t want any of these retreads.
It was reasonable to project Gibson at 36 as one of the top 7-8 5th starters in MLB. It’s a little less likely at 37 but still a fair bet.
I can see them in on Quantrill.
Ignorant & letitbe…I could see the RS in on one of either Quantrill or Gibson if they needed a 5-6 guy, but we have a whole slew of those already.
But don’t count them out cuz they are going to be “raising the ceiling” going “full throttle” this season! LoL
I was being facetious when mentioning Gibson, I do hope Boston “raises the roof” and goes all out for a couple studs. I do believe their fanbase is clamoring for it and would be thankful.
Nats non tendered finnegan??
Nats non-tendered “Son of fair-headed”, says it right in article
Very strange that they couldn’t get anything for him at the deadline last year. They traded Winker and Lane Thomas so they were shopping their guys. You’d think a lotto ticket 18 year old in A ball would’ve been on the table for a late inning guy with recent success.
@Trotski A weak FIP, and even a slightly too high asking price will sink a deal for a player like Finnegan every time. He would have been a useful addition as a 6th inning guy in some contenders’ bullpens, but even a lottery ticket’s a high price for a player with his peripherals in 2023-2024.
At the deadline the Nats’ were probably legitimately thinking Finnegan would be their closer in 2025. His poor performance in the second half appears to have changed that plan.
An AS with 38 svs
You can try to rationalize it
At the end of the day, makes no sense
Just cheap owners most likely
What happens now, can anyone pick him up?
Even non tenders are banking, man I wish I would have been more disciplined as a kid
This collection of non-tendered pitchers is full of over-hyped, injury-prone, or underperforming players. If a team is seriously considering any of them as future contributors, they’re in for a rude awakening. None of these pitchers come close to being the type of valuable asset that could turn a team’s fortunes around—unless of course, you’re looking to sign an aging, injury-riddled reliever or a mediocre starter. It’s hard to argue for any of them as “bargains” when they’ve shown so little to suggest they could be worth their salt moving forward.
tl:dr: All of them are cooked!
They will all get paid. The rest of us should have worked harder on having a strong arm when we were younger
@old elpaso
Ah yes, the classic “they’ll get paid, so we should all envy them” argument. Sure, they’ll get contracts—but being paid doesn’t equate to being good or valuable to a team. If anything, teams throwing money at non-tendered mediocrity just underscores the desperation some organizations face when there’s no better option. Maybe instead of focusing on their bank accounts, we could focus on why their past performances make them such poor investments moving forward.
Teams seldom rely on these players as anything more than depth signings. They get to see them in spring training, and give them a go if they look good to that point. Or they get cut.
@stymeedone
“Depth signings”—the ultimate euphemism for “warm bodies to fill a roster spot until we find someone better.” If these players are just being brought in to take up space and maybe get cut during spring training, it only reinforces my point: they’re not contributors, they’re placeholders. Banking on one of them “looking good” in spring training is the equivalent of dumpster diving and hoping to find treasure. Teams might as well save themselves the trouble and invest in actual talent instead of clinging to long shots like these.
I’d say Milner is the guy who doesn’t fit your description above. I think he’s the undervalued guy of the group. Probably because he doesn’t throw hard. At the arb projection, I’m surprised they didn’t find a trade partner.
@KamKid Were the Brewers really going to deal a pretty good arm, though, when as of July they were hardly a lock for the postseason?
I mean before the tender deadline.
@KamKid
Milner—the token exception to prove the rule, I assume? Sure, maybe he’s undervalued because he doesn’t throw hard, but let’s not act like soft-tossers are the secret to success in today’s game. Even if he’s better than the rest of the group, that’s hardly an achievement when the bar is set so low. The fact that his team couldn’t even find a trade partner for him at an arbitration-level projection speaks volumes—he’s just not the hidden gem you’re trying to make him out to be.
I’m not suggesting hidden gem. He’s just been a really consistent useful reliever. Not “over-hyped” as you say. 64 innings each of the last three years with a solid 18% or better K-BB% and excellent suppression of hard contact. A lefty with a pitch mix that allows him to get right handed batters out is valuable with the 3 batter minimum rule. He’s a guy coming off a season with much better underlying metrics than results in the traditional categories. Those are guys usually undervalued in arbitration. It’s the opposite of Finnegan who has all those saves which are over hyped and overvalued in arbitration. Finnegan’s non tender made a whole lot more sense to me than Milner’s.
@Old York “This collection of non-tendered pitchers is full of over-hyped, injury-prone, or underperforming players. ”
——————————————————————————
It’s almost as if that’s the definition of a non-tendered player.
It’s easy to envision Jed Hoyer signing all 5 of these guys and doing nothing else
Let’s be real, the Cubs can’t really afford more than two of them.
Cubs have 50 million to spend before the luxury tax
Cubs would have to ask Milner if he wouldn’t mind deferring at least half of his salary until 2035. Or see if he’ll take a signing bonus but not actually paid out until 2040. He might be amenable.
Would love to see the Royals go after a guy like Quantrill , good 5 guy , can be a good bullpen piece , decently cheap , 2 years 10 million
He has stretches when he’s a lot better than that. Seriously nasty splitter.
Why should we even keep our eyes on non-tendered players? Sign them if needed but don’t keep your eyes on them.
Orioles have plenty of SP ammo 2 through 5 … healthy ones, healing ones and in the pipeline. They need a TOR guy. That’s it. Hope they don’t add more 2 through 5 guys like mentioned here.
Position player wise a veteran RH league level hitter or 2 preferably with playoff experience. Gleyber Torres (sp) comes to mind.
I think Sandoval has confidence issues and can fall apart emotionally when things go awry on the mound. The mental toughness is lacking although physically/athletically gifted. He ain’t gonna be ready mid-season 2025. Maybe September call-up at best. I would NOT take a flyer.
Each of these pitchers has an i except for Jordan Romano. So it’s going to be harder to keep an i on him.
I feel like whoever signs Milner is going to get a huge bargain. He really didn’t do anything worse than he did in 2023, perpherial wise. If anything, he improved in a lot of areas.
Sandoval is an ideal reclamation candidate for Chris Fetter and the Tigers. Beam him up, Scotty!
Yet another disaster of an article by Nick Deeds. There shouldn’t be a comma before “as well.” How do you get this right the first time you use it and then screw it up the next?
“Ugly as those numbers look on paper” and “terrible as Romano’s 2024 campaign was” are NOT PROPER ENGLISH. You can’t just leave “as” out at the start of the sentence because you feel like it. It’s not optional, and neither is proper grammar.