Friday represents the deadline for teams to tender contracts to players who are under club control. There are always a few notable names who are cut loose as their projected arbitration price tags begin to outpace production. The non-tender deadline can also serve as a catalyst for trades. A player's current team might not want to meet their arbitration salary, but the price isn't so outlandish that they can't find someone else willing to take that on.
Cal Quantrill, Scott Barlow, Luis Urías and Kyle Wright all fell into this bucket at last year's deadline. They'd each had some early-career success that built their arbitration prices, but each was either coming off a mediocre year or (in Wright's case) facing a significant injury absence.
We'll try to identify a few players who could land in the middle ground this week. These aren't the arbitration-eligible players who are most likely to be traded at any point this offseason. Garrett Crochet, Ryan Helsley and Devin Williams all have a decent chance to move over the winter, but none of them is in danger of getting cut. Friday doesn't serve as any kind of deadline to spur a trade for them. Their teams can tender them a contract and trade them weeks or months from now. Players traded this week are usually borderline non-tender candidates. If their teams don't find a trade partner by Friday evening, they could decide to move on entirely. Salary projections are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. All of these players have five-plus years of service and are down to their final year of club control.
Mike Yastrzemski, Giants ($9.5MM projection)
All four of San Francisco's arb-eligible players could arguably fit on this list. LaMonte Wade Jr., Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval are themselves viable offseason trade candidates. Moving Yastrzemski could be the most urgent decision for president of baseball operations Buster Posey. With a $9.5MM projection, he's the most expensive player in the team's arbitration class and seems the likeliest to be non-tendered if they don't arrange a trade in the next 48 hours.
Yastrzemski is a capable everyday right fielder. After two excellent offensive seasons to begin his career, he has settled in as an average hitter. The lefty-hitting outfielder carries a .225/.311/.431 batting line since the start of the '21 season. This year's .231/.302/.437 slash with 18 homers is on par with that production. Yastrzemski is a solid defensive corner outfielder but isn't an option for more than emergency work in center field. A near-$10MM salary for his age-34 season is neither an albatross nor a bargain. Yastrzemski seemed to be a favorite of former front office head Farhan Zaidi. It's not clear if Posey values him to the same extent, but the Giants are clearly going to reshuffle the lineup in some way this winter.
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I’ll take Doval and Crochet on the Mets
I don’t get the interest in either for the Mets. If Sterns and Cohen think the team has turned a corner and are ready to compete why not sign / trade for players with at least a little less risk.
Why trade players when you can buy players
Doval doesn’t solve the Mets bullpen issue with walks. Seems like an unlikely acquisition.
I’d take Yaz in Boston just so his 85 year old grandfather can see him in a Boston uniform. Seeing him come home to wind down his career would be cool as would seeing another Yaz patrolling the outfield, even if it would be as a bench guy.
Agreed. I’m a Giants guy, and Yaz has been surprisingly consistent. Solid glove in right and a fairly decent 6-7 hitter. With the short right field in Boston, and of course regular (speculative) playing time, he could hit 20-25 homers. Yaz in Boston would be a perfect way to spend the rest of his career and pay homage to his grandpa.
We need yaz in Fenway
I get it, DBH, but is there a worse time for that to happen. The Sox need another lefty-hitting outfielder like they need another bad trade.
Sox aren’t in serious contention right now.
Orioles and Yankees gonna dominate that division for the next couple seasons
Take away the sentimentality and Yaz is still a great fit in Boston. His bat would play much better there and his gloves is still above average.
In a vacuum perhaps but the Sox have currently cheaper guys in house who do what Yaz does better in duran and abreu.
I’m not an insider but what are the chances of McCormick or Meyers being non-tendered?
Zero for both. Meyers is only in arb 1 and the org said McCormick will get a chance to rebound.
houstonchronicle.com/sports/astros/article/chas-mc…
That’s my hope – McCormick played well in 2023. I know that most astros fans don’t like him for some reason.
Who would you rather have on your team, Yastrzemski or Verdugo?
Yaz and it isn’t even a competition. In fact, I’d take Carl over Verdugo.
Yaz is consistently one of the best outfielders in baseball, yaz EVERYDAY