The Phillies avoided arbitration with all of their remaining eligible players ahead of Friday afternoon’s 1 p.m. ET deadline.
Shortly before said deadline, the Phillies avoided having to go through the arbitration process with their final two eligible players, first baseman Rhys Hoskins and reliever José Alvarado. Hoskins will make $4.8 million in 2021, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Alvarado, who the Phillies hope can help fix their bullpen, signed for $1 million, according to Robert Murray of FanSided.
According to MLB Trade Rumors Hoskins projected salary fell between $3.4 million and $5.5 million. Alvarado’s projected salary was listed between $1 million and $1.1 million.
After a late-season injury in 2020, Hoskins underwent surgery on his left elbow, which came with a four to six month recovery timeline. The Phillies hope Hoskins will be ready at the start of the regular season, as he slashed .245/.384/.503 with 10 home runs, 26 RBIs and 29 walks in 41 games this past season.
Alvarado was the first major league acquisition of new Phillies president Dave Dombrowski. The Phillies traded 2015 third-round pick Garrett Cleavinger to Tampa Bay in the deal to acquire the former Rays reliever.
Alvarado put up blistering numbers in 2018. He posted a 2.39 ERA in 64 innings of work and featured a 101-mph fastball. However, the 25-year-old struggled to stay healthy in 2019 and 2020, and wasn’t effective when pitching, posting a 5.08 ERA in 44 games.
Earlier in the day, the Phillies also avoided arbitration with starter Vince Velasquez, with Salisbury noting that figure will come in at $4 million.