MLB Players Non-tendered by Teams

Overtime Heroics Editorial

2105 days ago

Teams had a deadline on Tuesday to tender players contracts. If a player is arbitration eligible this offseason, the team had to either keep the player under team control, or release him to free agency. Generally, injured players and underperforming players will get non-tendered and sent into the free agent market. Every once in awhile, there are notable players that do get non-tendered. This is a comprehensive list of all of the non-tendered players.

Notable Players

Addison Russell, Shortstop, Chicago Cubs

This one is probably the headlining move made for this list. Russell, heading into his age 26 season, has had two things working against him. He had a very subpar season, slashing .237/.308/.391. He was also suspended during the 2018 and 2019 season for a domestic violence issue as well.

Kevin Pillar, Centerfield, San Francisco Giants

Kevin Pillar went from a man who got an MVP vote, to a man without a contract in place for the 2020 season. Pillar had his usual production, a .259/.287/.432 slash line with 21 homers as well. He heads into his age 31 season, and will likely make less than his 2019 number of $5.8 million.

Domingo Santana, Outfield, Seattle Mariners

The Mariners did not want to give Santana a likely raise in arbitration. He didn’t live up to his 2017 numbers, but heading into his age 27 season, it seems premature. Santana slashed .253/.329/.441 with 21 homers. 

Blake Treinen, Reliever, Oakland Athletics

Treinen had the tale of two seasons for 2018 and 2019. He would have likely ended up over $7 million during the arbitration process, and the budget conscious Athletics couldn’t stomach that. His ERA was close to 5 and he walked batters at a higher clip than ever before in his career.

Aaron Sanchez, Starting Pitcher, Houston Astros

Many thought that when Sanchez was acquired by the Astros that they would turn him into the next Gerrit Cole. Unfortunately, an injury plagued career continued that trend. He will likely be out until the middle of the year, and thus capping his earning potential.

Next Tier Notable Players

Jose Peraza, Utility, Cincinnati Reds

Peraza is 25 years old and has shown flashes of brilliance, like 2018. Still, the Reds seemed to think otherwise and are heading in a different direction. After an abysmal 2019 that saw him slash .239/.285/.346, but with stellar defense, the Reds thought it best to let him walk.

Charlie Culberson, Utility, Atlanta Braves

Culberson has been non-tendered, much to the ire of Braves fans. For what it is worth, Culberson hasn’t quite found the same success with the Braves that he had with the Dodgers. He had a 85 wRC+ in 2019 and was used sparingly as it was. The Braves are probably doing right by Culberson by allowing him to seek more steady playing time.

Steven Souza Jr., Right Field, Arizona Diamondbacks

After spending the entire season in 2019 hurt, it’s no wonder that the Diamondbacks are walking away from a once productive player. It’s hard to argue with the logic of releasing a player that can’t get on the field.

Maikel Franco, Third Base, a Philadelphia Phillies

This isn’t a surprise by any means, but it is an end to what was once thought to be a long term solution to third base. Franco has plenty of power and lived up to it in 2015 during his rookie year. Unfortunately, he struggled to be productive after that year and was worth a -0.5 fWAR. The Phillies would likely rather allocate his money elsewhere on the roster.