So last night was the tender/non-tender deadline, in which teams decide if they want to offer a contract for 2014 to arbitration-eligible players. If a player is non-tendered then they become free agents and can negotiate with any team (and, for our purposes, won't cost a draft pick in 2014). So who are some of the more interesting players not tendered a contract by their former teams?
Scott Atchison
Spent 2013 with the Mets. In 50 games (45.1IP), Atchison allowed 45H/22ER, 28K:12BB, for a 4.37 ERA/1.26 WHIP. But he held RHBs to a .254/.273/.342 line in 2013, in line with his career .257/.293/.376 line against Righties. He'll be 38 in 2014, though, so he's, like, old and stuff. From Texas.
Dylan Axelrod
The 28-year old has spent his entire ML career with the White Sox, and has had a rough go of it. In 2012-13, he's posted 226H/112ER in 179.1IP, with a 1.77 K:BB ratio. As a starter, he has allowed an .878 OPS; as a reliever: .946 OPS, but both are due to elevated BABIPs.
John Axford
Dude was lights-out in 2011, saving an NL-best 46 games (for whatever that's worth) with a 1.95 ERA/1.14 WHIP. In 2012 and 2013, though, he has posted a 4.35 ERA/1.48 WHIP, and performed better for the Cardinals when he was shipped off by the Brewers mid-season in 2013 (1.74 ERA/1.36 WHIP). He held righties to a .282/.331/.430 line in 2013, which is better than the .289/.382/.456 line that lefties slashed. And when you consider that his 2011 year featured a .291 BABIP as opposed to the .346 BABIP he had in 2013, maybe there's still some value in Axford.
Andrew Bailey
Former 2006 6th-Round pick by the A's, he was traded to Boston for (with others and among others) Josh Reddick), he has only thrown 44IP in two years with Boston thanks to a variety of injuries, most recently a torn labrum in 2013. But before that injury, he was posting a 3.77 ERA/1.22 WHIP for the Red Sox, with a 3.25 K:BB ratio. He still walked 39 of the 116 batters he faced. And he might still be hurt. Worth a flier?
Daniel Bard
Not just no. Hell no.
Mitchell Boggs
Luhnow Guy Alert! Former Cardinals reliever averaged a 3.33 ERA/1.35 WHIP between 2009-2012. Then things went to hell for him in 2013 and the Cardinals let him go after he had allowed 21H/18ER, with 11K:15BB in 14.2IP. He threw in nine games for the Rockies, where he allowed 7H/3ER, 5K:5BB in 8.2IP. But for Triple-A Colorado Springs (Rockies) he allowed 33H/15ER, 7K:11BB. So that's not really good, either. Hm. Maybe a Luhnowunion is in the Cards (ha ha ha), but it would clearly need to be on a minor-league contract.
Ronald Belisario
For the Dodgers in 2012-13, Belisario appeared in 145 games (139IP), and allowed a 3.24 ERA/1.27 WHIP, with a 2.07 K:BB ratio. What's more, in 2013, righties only hit .260/.325/.359 on a perfectly normal .306 BABIP, and he only allowed 12 extra-base hits in 202 plate appearances. In the 2nd half of 2013, he held all batters to a .253/.355/.316 line. I like this one.
Tyler Cloyd
He'll be 27 next season, and enjoyed a couple of really good minor-league seasons for the Phillies in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, he allowed a 4.71 ERA/1.34 WHIP for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. For the Phillies in 2013, he started 11 games (13 appearances) and got rocked for a 6.56 ERA/1.79 WHIP.
Chris Coghlan
Man. 2009 saw him post a .321/.390/.460 season for the Marlins, which won him the NL Rookie of the Year award. And then I think he hurt himself celebrating, and he hasn't been able to get it back, with OPSes in 2010-12 (with declining games played in each season) of .718, .664, .394. He played in 70 games for the Marlins in 2013, hitting .256/.318/.354 with a 1st-Half OPS of .742 (141 PAs) and...a 2nd-Half OPS of .532 (73 PAs).
Garrett Jones
WANT, although he fits the profile of some in-house options the Astros already have. In 14 games for the 2013 Pirates, Jones hit .233/.289/.419 with 15HR. He struck out 101 times in 440 PAs. In 2012, Jones hit .274/.317/.516 with 27HR and 28 doubles in 145 games (515 PAs). He should in no way be allowed to face lefties, as there is almost a 250 point difference in his OPS vs. RHP (.826) and LHP (.578). Can play both 1B and RF.
So, if there's anything I can help you with, I'll be right over here.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
