When Major League Baseball’s transaction freeze concludes at the end of the lockout, more than 25 former Philadelphia Phillies will be available in free agency.
Here’s a look at some of the most notable, including some who were part of the 2021 Phillies:
Andrew McCutchen
The Phillies declined the five-time All-Star’s $15 million option for 2022, instead choosing to pay him a $3 million buyout. McCutchen posted a 1.027 OPS against left-handed pitching this past season, so the 35-year-old still figures to receive a major league deal from someone this offseason.
Archie Bradley
After signing a one-year/$6 million deal with the Phillies in free agency last winter, Bradley posted a 3.71 ERA and 4.35 FIP in 53 games in 2021. An oblique injury really hampered the first couple months of Bradley’s time with the Phillies. To his credit, the 29-year-old was very effective between June and July, posting a 2.01 ERA in 22 games. However, sandwiched around a solid mid-season run for Bradley were an injury-riddled start and an underwhelming finish.
Asdrúbal Cabrera
Cabrera, who spent 49 games with the 2019 Phillies, split the 2021 season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds. After slashing .244/.324/.392 with the Snakes, Cabrera struggled mightily in a small sample size with the Reds, hitting .077 in 26 at-bats.
Blake Parker
Parker pitched in 37 games for the Phillies between 2019 and 2020, shining in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season for an otherwise disastrous bullpen when he posted a 2.81 ERA in 14 appearances. Now 36, Parker posted a 3.09 ERA and 4.06 FIP in 47 games for Cleveland this past season.
Brad Miller
In his second stint with the Phillies, Miller homered 20 times and drove in 49 runs in 331 at-bats. He’s a boom-or-bust player, but he booms enough to make him valuable. The 32-year-old is a fan favorite, and there should be interest from the Phillies in potentially bringing him back. From here, he may actually be more likely to return to the Phillies if there isn’t a universal DH. If there’s a universal DH, there may be a team willing to offer him more at-bats than the Phillies, who have a lot of players who profile as DH types.
Brandon Kintzler
It’s possible that the 29 games that Kintzler pitched for the Phillies in 2021 served as an unceremonious end to a 12-year major league career. The Phillies designated Kintzer for assignment in late July, and ultimately released the veteran righty after he posted a 6.37 ERA in red pinstripes.
Brandon Workman
Workman’s major league career appears to be on life support. The Phillies acquired Workman from Boston in August of 2020, but he posted a 6.92 ERA in 14 appearances. Workman then posted a 5.46 ERA across 29 games between the Chicago Cubs and Red Sox in 2021.
Chase Anderson
Signed last offseason to a one-year/$4 million deal, Anderson posted a 6.75 ERA in 14 games for the Phillies, nine of which were starts. The 34-year-old cleared waivers after being designated for assignment in late August. While he joined the Texas Rangers organization for the final month of the season, he never appeared at the major league level for them.
Cole Hamels
The four-time All-Star has struggled to get healthy over the past two seasons, including making $1 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers this past season before a season-ending shoulder injury prevented him from pitching for the team at all. In November, Hamels’ agent told Jon Morosi of MLB.com that he underwent surgery and was targeting a return “by late summer” of 2022. We’ll see if there’s any interest in the 38-year-old.
Corey Dickerson
Despite not getting on base a ton, Dickerson was very productive in 34 games for the 2019 Phillies, hitting .293 with eight home runs, 34 RBIs and an .886 OPS. Since then, Dickerson has had stints with the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays. The 32-year-old slashed .271/.326/.408 with a .734 OPS in 109 games this past season.
David Hale
In 23 games over the last two seasons with the Phillies, Hale posted a 6.41 ERA and 4.98 FIP. The 34-year-old was designated for assignment in late June, and cleared waivers. He didn’t catch on with another organization afterwards.
David Robertson
Tommy John surgery essentially turned the two-year/$23 million deal that Robertson signed with the Phillies ahead of the 2019 season into a wash. However, after pitching for Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics this past summer, Robertson was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays for the remainder of the season. The 36-year-old allowed six earned runs across 12 regular season innings for the Rays.
Drew Smyly
Smyly revived his career with the Phillies in 2019, with then-manager Gabe Kapler even famously (or infamously) saying that Smyly resembled franchise icon Cliff Lee on the mound a bit. Two years later, Smyly pitched to a 4.48 ERA and 5.11 FIP in 29 games — 23 of which were starts — for the division-rival Atlanta Braves. While that was disappointing production after he received a one-year/$11 million free-agent contract from the eventual World Series Champions, Smyly did post a 1.64 ERA in six relief appearances in the final month of the regular season.
Heath Hembree
Acquired with Workman in a last-ditch effort by Matt Klentak to save the 2020 season, Hembree turned in awful results for Joe Girardi and company, posting a 12.54 ERA in 11 games. Things weren’t a ton better in 2021, as Hembree finished a season that he split between the New York Mets and Reds with a 5.59 ERA.
J.A. Happ
Happ finished second in National League Rookie of the Year Award voting in 2009 as a Phillie, before being traded to the Houston Astros as part of the Roy Oswalt deal a summer later. Happ, now 39, has had a pretty solid career, which has included an All-Star appearance and top-10 finish in American League Cy Young Award voting. But after posting a 5.79 ERA in a season split between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals, it’s fair to wonder if Happ has much left.
Jake Arrieta
It’s unclear whether Arrieta has a future in the sport. The former NL Cy Young Award winner posted a 4.36 ERA in three seasons with the Phillies, and a return to the Cubs proved short-lived, as he was designated for assignment after posting a 6.88 ERA in 20 starts. Arrieta caught on with the San Diego Padres, whose pitching depth had been decimated, but he was eventually DFA’d after posting an ERA north of 10 in four starts.
Jake Diekman
The veteran lefty spent the first three-and-a-half seasons of his major league career with the Phillies, before being traded to the Texas Rangers along with the aforementioned Hamels in July of 2015. Teams always need left-handed bullpen help, so it’s not out of the question that the Phillies could consider a reunion with their former 30th round pick once the lockout ends.
Matt Joyce
From what we can tell, Joyce hasn’t stated his intentions on whether he plans to keep playing. But after hitting .091 in 55 at-bats for the Phillies in 2021, it kind of feels like things may be over for the 37-year-old.
Matt Moore
Despite a pretty strong spring training, the one-year/3 million deal that the Phillies signed Moore to proved to be a mistake. The former All-Star lefty posted a 6.29 ERA and 5.76 FIP in 24 games, 13 of which were starts. After having so much success in Japan two seasons ago, you wonder if Moore could be lured back by an NPB team.
Ian Kennedy
Unfortunately for the Phillies, Kennedy is part of a long line of veteran relievers who have joined the team and hit a wall in recent years. In 23 games after being acquired in a midseason trade from the Rangers, Kennedy posted a 6.21 FIP and blew three of his 13 save attempts as a Phillie.
Neftalí Feliz
Feliz perhaps didn’t get a fair crack with the Phillies, as he was immediately inserted into two very high-leverage situations, and was DFA’d after allowing four earned runs in those appearances. The former American League Rookie of the Year did join the Los Angeles Dodgers organization after clearing waivers, pitching three scoreless innings for them.
Odúbel Herrera
Herrera elected free agency after being outrighted off the 40-man roster in November. The former All-Star homered 13 times, drove in 51 runs and posted two defensive runs saved in center field this past season, so just from a baseball sense he’s probably deserving of a job somewhere. However, given his past domestic violence arrest and suspension, it’s unclear if anyone will give Herrera, set to turn 30 later this month, a chance in 2022.
Ramón Rosso
In 14 games for the Phillies over the last two seasons, Rosso posted a 6.11 ERA and 5.39 FIP. He’s only 25, so it’s possible someone gives Rosso a shot as Triple-A depth in 2022.
Roman Quinn
Given that he’s lightning quick and can play all three outfield positions, there’s seemingly a place for Quinn in the sport, in a Terrance Gore-type capacity. That’s assuming that when he returns from his torn achilles at some point in the summer of 2022 that he still has the same type of burst.
Ronald Torreyes
A long-time favorite of Girardi, Torreyes had some timely hits and showed great defensive versatility in 2021. Still, he was outrighted off the 40-man roster in November and elected free agency. The 29-year-old is likely looking at a situation where he receives a minor-league deal with an invite to major league spring training from some team.
Tommy Hunter
Hunter appeared in 94 games for the Phillies between 2018 and 2020. He pitched eight scoreless innings this past season for the New York Mets, and was actually re-acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays in the July trade that sent Rich Hill to the Mets. Ultimately, a back injury kept the 35-year-old from pitching for Tampa.
Vince Velasquez
After five-and-a-half seasons in Philadelphia, Velasquez was DFA’d and cleared waivers in September. The Padres signed the 29-year-old, and he posted an unsightly 8.53 ERA in four starts for San Diego.
Wilson Ramos
Ramos did homer eight times and drove in 20 runs in 40 games this past season, appearing for both the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland. It’s unclear how much the 34-year-old catcher has left physically.
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