Every year, MLB’s non-tender deadline sees club’s allow players under team control to head for the open market early, whether it be due to an increasing price tag in arbitration or a need for additional space on the club’s 40-man roster. Last offseason saw one of the most notable non-tenders in recent memory as the Dodgers made the decision to part ways with Cody Bellinger. Bellinger, of course, went on to sign with the Cubs and post a resurgent season, slashing .307/.356/.525 with 26 home runs en route to a top-10 finish in NL MVP voting. Bellinger’s strong season earned him the #2 spot on MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents list this offseason, where we projected him for a twelve-year, $264MM deal.
A player of Bellinger’s caliber- a two-time All Star with MVP and Rookie of the Year awards under his belt- being non-tendered is exceptionally rare, and there’s little reason to believe that any of this offseason’s non-tendered players will reach those sort of heights in 2024. That being said, plenty of players wind up non-tendered and go on to have strong careers afterwards: Kyle Schwarber, Jeimer Candelario, Kevin Gausman, and Matt Strahm are among the players in recent memory who have gone on to find success as big league regulars following a non-tender.
With an unusually weak class of free agent hitters on tap for this offseason, teams figure to be more incentivized than ever to uncover a diamond in the rough in search of offensive upgrades this winter. Let’s take a look at five hitters who hit free agency following last week’s non-tender deadline and could be worth keeping an eye on throughout the coming offseason. Players are listed in alphabetical order, with their age for the 2024 season in parentheses.
Mike Ford (31)
Ford made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2019. He hit exceptionally well in a part-time role, slashing .259/.350/.559 (134 wRC+) with 12 homers in just 163 trips to the plate. Despite that strong performance, Ford would not clear 100 plate appearances in a season again until 2022, when he struggled through 50 games at the big league level while bouncing between the Braves, Angels, Mariners, and Giants. In 149 trips to the plate between the aforementioned four clubs, Ford hit a paltry .206/.302/.313 (81 wRC+). He received another big league opportunity in Seattle this season, however, and managed to make the most of it with a solid rebound campaign.
Upon being called up in early June, Ford played on a semi-regular basis with a solid .228/.323/.475 slash line with 16 home runs in 251 trips to the plate. Overall, that performance was good for a well above-average wRC+ of 123. Despite his successful season, the Mariners non-tendered Ford rather than offer him an arbitration-level contract that MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected would be worth $1.5MM. Still, Ford figures to be a cheap source of optionable left-handed power for a club with an opening at either first base or DH, and could prove to be a solid pickup for teams looking to boost their offense in 2024 who can afford to offer him at-bats.
Kyle Lewis (28)
After being selected eleventh-overall by the Mariners in the 2016 draft, Lewis began his big league career with a bang by slashing .268/.293/.592 with six home runs during an 18-game cup of coffee towards the end of the 2019 season. The strong initial performance earned Lewis an everyday role in center field during the shortened 2020 season. It was an opportunity Lewis made the most of as he slashed .262/.364/.437 (127 wRC+) while playing quality defense in center en route to an AL Rookie of the Year award.
Unfortunately, since have gone off the rails for Lewis since then. Knee injuries, a concussion, and illness have sidelined him much of the time since then, and he’s hit a paltry .203/.281/.342 in 70 MLB games when he has been able to take the field. That being said, Lewis hit exceptionally well at the Triple-A level for the Diamondbacks this year, with a .371/.457/.641 slash line in 293 trips to the plate. That performance wasn’t enough to convince Arizona to spend a projected $1.61MM on Lewis’s services in arbitration this year, but it’s certainly possible it signals that Lewis could return to being an above-average regular in the big leagues if he can stay healthy long enough to find an extended opportunity.
Nick Senzel (29)
Senzel was the second overall pick in the 2016 draft and made his big league debut with the Reds back in 2019. He performed acceptably in his rookie season, adjusting on the fly to become the club’s regular center fielder after spending his entire professional career prior to 2019 on the infield dirt. Still, his bat left something to be desired as he slashed just .256/.315/.427, good for a wRC+ of 87. Senzel struggled to stay healthy following the 2019 campaign, however, appearing in just 59 games over the next two seasons. He returned to semi-regular playing time in 2021, but struggled badly at the plate with a weak slash line of just .231/.296/.306 in 420 trips to the plate.
Though his offense improved slightly in 2023 as he slashed .236/.297/.399 with 13 home runs in 330 plate appearances as he split time between second base, third base, and all three outfield spots, that performance did not convince the Reds to tender him a contract worth a projected $3MM this offseason. Senzel’s non-tender was hardly a surprise given Cincinnati’s excess of positional talent and his recent struggles. That said, it’s easy to see Senzel being a valuable piece of a club’s bench mix in 2024 given his versatility and career .287/.334/.460 slash line against southpaws and it’s certainly feasible a player of his prospect pedigree could take a step forward if allotted regular playing time.
Jacob Stallings (34)
By far the oldest player on this list, Stallings is a veteran of eight MLB seasons and first joined the Pirates organization as a seventh-round pick all the way back in 2012. After struggling to catch on in a regular role early in his career, Stallings became the regular catcher in Pittsburgh during the 2019 season and spent the next three years as a quality regular behind the plate, slashing a decent .251/.331/.374 (89 wRC+) while playing excellent defense behind the plate that earned him a Gold Glove award in 2021. Unfortunately, Stallings’s career took a turn for the worse upon being traded to Miami. Over the past two seasons, he’s slashed just .210/.287/.290 in 203 games as his defensive metrics have collapsed behind the plate. Those struggles made it an easy decision for the Marlins to non-tender Stallings rather than offer him a contract that projected to be worth $3.6MM for the 2024 season.
Stallings is perhaps the least likely on this list to be a productive regular in 2024. After all, he’s been well below average on both sides of the ball the past two seasons and is entering his mid-thirties. That being said, He’s just two seasons removed from a 2.5 fWAR campaign that saw him post slightly better offensive numbers than the average catcher while being among the strongest defenders behind the plate in the league. Given the constant need for catching depth around the game, it seems likely Stallings will be afforded plenty of opportunity to recapture his old form as a solid two-way catcher, and he’d only need to find success at one or the other to be a solid backup option.
Juan Yepez (26)
Perhaps the most unusual entrant on this list, Yepez was non-tendered by the Cardinals last week despite not yet being eligible for arbitration. Yepez made his big league debut as a 24-year-old during the 2022 season, and made a solid impression during his rookie campaign. Though he was blocked at his native position of first base by Paul Goldschmidt, Yepez split time between DH and all four corner spots while slashing a solid .253/.296/.447 with 12 home runs in 274 trips to the plate. Unfortunately, Yepez struggled badly in his sophomore season, slashing just .183/.246/.300 in his 65 trips to the plate in the majors this year. His time in Triple-A didn’t go much better, as he posted a mediocre slash line of .255/.323/.414 in 86 games at the level.
While that down season led the Cardinals to part ways with Yepez to clear room on the 40-man roster, it’s worth noting that Yepez was blocked by an already-crowded Cardinals outfield mix at the big league level. Given his limited opportunities at the big league level to this point in his career, his relative youth, and a career .273/.349/.515 slash line at the Triple-A level, it’s easy to see how Yepez could be the latest late-career breakout candidate to emerge from St. Louis, not unlike Adolis Garcia, Luke Voit, and Patrick Wisdom before him.
Wow!
Zippy – I thought the sane thing until I read the article and learned it’s hitters and NOT bats that were nontendered!
Wow is the fact a slash line can be considered solid when it contains a .228 BA or an OBP under .300. Nothing solid about that.
.253/.296/.447 is an above average OPS+. I’ll take over some guy slashing .305/.330/.360 who would have been an all-star 30 years ago.
Regardless, these are the non tender guys. Not the top FAs ..
I hope Boston take Senzel
Yepez is a bat only player that didn’t hit last year. He’s not any good anyone could take a chance on a guy for a minor league deal but he’s not a good player. Very little upside.
Mike Ford being DFAd I don’t get. Mariners seem to be pretending to be poor.
Theoretically a guy has to take a step backwards in order for non tendering to make sense. It’s supposed to be 40 60 80 as in first year the player makes 40% of his true value next year 60 and then 80. The only time a non tender should theoretically make sense is if the player takes a step backward like Kyle Lewis has.
“Pretending to be poor”
Lazy incorrect narrative. Ford K’d in 32% of his ABS last year. The team has done everything they can to eliminate those guys from the roster. It’s certainly not bc of the $1.5MM he was due in arb.
Ford had a 122 OPS+. That’s a guy worth a roster spot even if he’s limited defensively. There is a really good chance he will get a better offer in free agency than he would have in arbitration.
Again 40 60 80. Unless the player was once good and got worse the player deserves to be offered arbitration.
You are an Orioles fan right? You know about teams pretending to be poor.
If ford had value on that deal he would’ve been moved. He wasn’t.
All his expected stats from last year signaled significant regression. The M’s want to reduce swing and miss in their lineup. Nothing wrong with the move.
Nobody “deserves” to be offered arbitration. Player is free to sign with 29 other teams if his current club chooses not to.
you don’t get Fords dfa, but say Yepez is worthless…
I could see Yepez inking a minor league deal in Seattle actually. He doesn’t have K issues and they could potentially have room for him in the lineup if he bounces back.
@Joel It’s about having room on the 40-man roster. If the M’s had extra spots to give out , then fine. But they don’t, it’s a full roster and the marginal guy who makes the 40-man is better than Ford in their eyes.
Yepez was terrible in 2023. He didn’t even hit at AAA. Ford had a 798 OPS at the big league level. Ford was a 2 win player with limited playing time. That’s a player worth a roster spot. Yepez might possibly bounce back but again he’s a bat only player who forgot how to hit in 2023. He’s worthless.
So you think the Mariners prefer Yepez over Ford because of strikeouts?
Yepez isn’t good. I have seen him play many many times he isn’t good.
Ford played well in 2023. It’s not a guarantee he will play well in 2024 but he played well in 2023.
There are always guys on the 40 man that aren’t any good. Every team has guys on the 40 mam that the team wouldn’t miss. Ford earned a job in 2024.
I’m curious if BrianStrowman is actually your name or whether it was a nod to Braun Strowman the wrestler lol…
It just made me think of Braun, and wondering where he is since to my knowledge he hasn’t wrestled in a long time.
To anyone who cares, I grew up watching wrestling with my dad in the mid 90s, and will still occasionally watch it with him to this day as sort of a bonding type deal and remembering the good Ole days…lol
I look at Ford’s numbers and Senzel’s numbers and while neither is HOF worthy, seeing the wide difference in WAR simply tells me there are flaws in WAR. It seems HRs, which are plentiful currently, are overvalued, and batting average, which is in short supply, is undervalued. The reality is neither was worthy of a roster spot.
you don’t get Fords dfa, but say Yepez is worthless…
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I was thinking the same thing. If I needed a guy today, I’d pick Ford. But given Yepez development line, I’d guess that there is a 50/50 chance that Yepez out-performs over the next four years.
Morning Joel. The Orioles owner will spend from time to time. Heck, in the late 90s when Baltimore was a big market team, Peter Angelos, had the highest player payroll in MLB for a couple years. In the mid 2010s when they were the winningest team in the AL for 5 years it was as high as 160-70 mil.
I’m pretty sure those days are gone until there’s new ownership. IMO Mrs Angelos and her advisors including her son John have the goal of getting the Birds in the best shape possible financially before unloading it.
WAR is wrong? Well there is a hot take. Yeah they started overvalued home runs lol.
Braun Strowman had neck fusion surgery, that’s why you haven’t seen him in a while.
That type of surgery usually takes a year or so more to recover from.
Thank you for this. I loved his run with the Wyatt family, and then lately his little run with Ricochet was different and kind of cool. I still can’t believe Bray is gone. His new storyline with Uncle Howdy and them eventually teaming with Karrion Kross, Scarlett, and Alexa Bliss would have been pretty dang awesome to see how everything unfolded. Just absolutely tragic..
Anyways, off-topic, but Ricochet is severely underused. AEW would highlight his skills much better imo, and I think he’d fair much better in a company that’s more about your in the ring skills rather than developing storylines. That’s just my opinion though. I’m sure for now, he just enjoys getting to work in the same company as his wife.
Thank you for the I formation though, I greatly appreciate it. I forgot all about his neck injury.
lol Brian is the name.
Familiar with Brawn. Not sure about that though. I’ve stopped watching wrestling for quite some time now. The attitude era will always be the greatest though.
He is a perfect for the Angela as a backup fo CF and 3B.
“Mike Ford being DFA’d I don’t get”…If you think the M’s released Mike Ford over finances you must not really understand MLB. EVERYBODY releases Mike Ford when he’s no longer needed, because he’s strictly an emergency fill in AAAA player. I guess you’re heartbroken over the Yankees releasing AAAA Jake Bauers too?
Actually they traded Bauers. Agreed Ford is not someone anyone should be hanging any real hopes on but he does show big power in small doses
Ford was a 2 win player with regular playing time. That’s a guy worth a roster spot.
You can’t assume that his stats prorate out with full playing time
You dont need to. He was productive when he got a chance to play. And that makes him worthy of a roster spot.
If you think the M’s released Mike Ford over finances you must not really understand MLB.
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There’s nothing there. His expected salary is $1.5M. Minimum wage is $750k. No one but maybe the As, and maybe not even the As, jettisons a player over $750k.
We really need an injury prone Center Fielder and/or Second Baseman?
If the Sox were to take anyone off of this list it would probably be Yepez. RH 1B/DH basically fills the role Turner did last year
Yepez isn’t good. Huge downgrade from Turner.
Completely agree but would serve the same purpose. Yepez would probably turn out better than Senzel though
I would take Senzel over Yepez but there is a good chance Senzel is broken beyond repair. At least Senzel can play defense though. Yepez is a bat only guy who forgot how to hit.
Meh…
I think Stallings would make a very quality backup to Elias Diaz in Colorado and possibly take over as starter if Diaz is traded. The Rox have a few young catchers on the way up, but who knows how they will develop. Their only other 40 man guy, Brian Serven, is not really a big league catcher. Stallings could be a decent fill in guy for a year or two if they can get him cheap. And there is always the possibility that laying in Coors could recharge his bat.
Serven’s probably better than Stallings, who at this point may be the single worst all-around position player in the majors. There are better options. Knizner from the Cards is better both offensively and defensively.
I can see him going to Houston as a defensive backup.
I’d like to see what Yepez could do over the course of a full season. The bat would play but I think the Tigers already have too many bat first players currently on the team (Carpenter) and coming up from the minors (Malloy, Bigbie). He was blocked in St Louis, but I’m surprised he didn’t get traded last year when he had more value.
“…24 in 2022…” “Yepez could be the latest LATE-CAREER candidate…”
The LV Athletics love these types.
Mets need a backup at 1B.
I don’t know why, but I see the Reds taking a shot at Kyle Lewis. Probably because that’s the bargain basement shopping Po Boy goes for.
I could see that happening. I could also see it becoming the next Wil Myers signing also.
I like Kyle Lewis for the White Sox. Small ballpark will help his numbers. If he proves he’s healthy, he allows them to listen to offers on Roberts at the deadline.
Would love to see the Royals take a shot on Senzel, but they already have a Senzel-like guy on the team in Loftin.
Everyone has a Senzel-type player, or 3 or 4. That’s why he was cut not traded. The Reds really effed this guy over by not letting him settle in to the majors at his natural position or trading him when he was younger.
Pittsburgh maybe a decent landing spot for Yepez at first
I’d like to give Stallings another look. But Delay is probably what they should do.
Bellinger didn’t re-sign with the Cubs, he signed with them.
DBacks could possibly give Senzel or Yepez a look if Gurriel signs elsewhere. They could use another RH OF bat with some pop and potential.
Mike Ford
8 years/$300M
Or
1 year/$810k
Or
2 years/$1.9M
But with whom…. The A’s? Another go-around with the Yankees because it’s fair to assume Rizzo is all but toast?
If Ford breaks out in a legendary way during his 30s, becoming a left-handed Nelson Cruz hitting 40+ homers a year, that 8 year $300 million could end up quite reasonable.
Would be a bargain if he also develops a killer knuckleball.
I have this feeling he’ll latch on with a team and lock it in, get the right line up protection and maximize his potential, have a few of those 30-40 home run if not a 50 home run season. He seems like he has that potential.
I agree. I think a very lucrative deal is in his future. He’s one of the higher profile and more productive Quadruple-A players that have hung around for a few years now and I think there are indications from the last year and a half that he is primed to truly break out.
You can’t really say Stallings is a BAD defensive catcher based solely on metrics. You could speculate it tho. The framing is obviously a big deal but a catcher is in some ways a coach and arguably the most important one. I mean if you don’t realize all the things a catcher does then you just don’t understand baseball. It’s the one position we will never be good at quantifying.
Off the top of my head consider the stats of Kurt Suzuki. A horrible pitch framer (it’s even obvious watching him) ; but a very respected catcher defensively by many of his teams. Credited with getting many pitchers on track in his career.
I hope Kyle Lewis isn’t done. It’d be sad if injuries pretty much ended his career so early. His AAA performance this past year at least gives a bit of hope he may be able to make his way back at some point in the near future.
The absolute state of the position player market this off-season.
Ford always has the family business to fall back on.
Paul Sorrento and Alex Rios both had a good run with KIA.
Ruben Sierra did well with GMC.
Ichiro Suzuki sold a lot of cars and was in the Hall of Fame. Kurt Suzuki sold some good cars but didn’t make the Hall.
And don’t forget all the Cruz(e)s who represent the famous Ford model.
Ivan Nova of Chevy fame.
Nellie Fox , Rich Dotson, and Tim Hudson come to mind also.
Lots of car guys tried their hand at baseball first.
Cruz was a Chevy.
Yepez spent all of last season in that wacky, unexplainable place known as Mo’s Doghouse.
I can’t factually say what landed him there and Mo will never tell. But if I were guessing, I’d say it goes back to 2022. Yepez probably ignored the advice of the Annointed One (Jeff Albert) and instead sought the advice of some hack named Pujols. Who would do THAT?
Speaking of Jeff Albert, hey Mets fans, how are those young hitters coming along?
Yepez checked a lot of boxes for me with the bat. I think a team will grab him let him do what he does and will be rewarded.
Senzel and Lewis are glass.
Stallings in the backup stage of career
Ford I think was just flash in pan yankee prospect.
Of this group yepez is the one to grab. Lewis if a near dh only. Senzel should be much better but he’s something of a tweener when not injured. Bat not good enough for corner. Glove not good enough up middle.
Kyle Lewis to the White Sox
So is Voit toast? Will he latch on with anybody and actually produce and be healthy ever again?
Toast
Am I do the only one not getting notifications on th app anymore?
Am I do the only one not getting notifications on the app anymore?
I had the app for a few years and it stopped giving me updates pretty quickly-both push notifications and actual app updates even when refreshing in-app.
I found it was easier and more reliable to visit the site on a mobile web browser rather than through the app.
I would re-download, I would update it- etc. hoping it would work properly, but I finally gave up a while ago.
I haven’t had the app in years and I feel like my experience keeping updated and replying in the comments section is seamless via a mobile browser where the app was basically useless.
(No offense MLBTR- I love you guys, but yeah the app never worked for me)
You gotta love the snipe against the Cardinals hitting evaluators. It is hard to believe the Cardinals would let a young bat go without a legitimate chance. Yepez was a darling of Redbird media announcers for the way he shadowed Pujols during the Farewell Tour.
I mean he did put up a 109 OPS+ as a rookie, which is impressive considering he was a pop-up prospect in mid/late ‘21.
He probably thought he was prepped to get a shot at being the main DH prior to Pujols’ signing, and certainly at some point this year. That consistent shot never materialized and the up/down and limited ABs likely were fairly demoralizing. He definitely needs a change of scenery.
If the Cards sold on him last season or the year before, he would have had *some* value. But he had very little trade value at this point, hence the DFA.
Hard to believe the Cards would let a young bat go without a legitimate chance?? Try Randy Arozarena.
The number of repetitive comments here is enough to make my head spin.
Does anyone actually care if any of these guys get a MLB deal?
Is this your first day here on mlbtr Stevil? Lots of pompous bloviating and repetitive unoriginal takes from the internets! There are some gems if you take the time to sift. Happy Holidays to you!
The Phillies made it to Game 6 of the WS in 2022 and Game 7 of the NLCS last year. However, their Achilles heel has been their bench. About the only player who contributed anything when called upon was Edmundo Sosa (INF).
That weakness really hurt them this year. Guys like Cave, Pache, Clemens, Castro, Hall and a few others whose names I’ve forgotten, were woefully inept.
Thus, I’d be on board with them signing Senzel as a play-all-over-the-place reserve who could easily get 350 ABs in that role.
I would like to see them acquire Madrigal from the Cubs if only for his ability to make contact. Way too many times last year we didn’t score a run with RISP because, as a team, we struck out way too much and those baserunners stayed put.
Dombro has to improve the bench and add a quality relief pitcher. If he does those two things, and assuming good luck with the health of our core players, the Phillies will go deep into the playoffs once again.
@ Nick Deeds. Check your grammar a few times in the second paragraph about Kyle Lewis.
Not as crunchy when tenderized…..
I don’t study these things, but it feels like there are a lot of quality non-tender players out there this year. A team like the Rox should put McMahon, Rodgers, Cron, and Blackmon on the block, eat as much salary as possible in order to maximize the return, and look at adding Senzel, Yepez, Ford, Stallings, and a couple of these other AAAA players.
What’s the downside? The #1 pick instead of the #3 pick?
Cron’s gone. Doubt they’d deal Blackmon after the significant overpay they just gave him to come back.
Anyways you can’t expect the Rockies to do logical things.
The Braves can just sign Senzel, Lewis, and Yepez to deals and let them battle it out for LF supremacy. All 3 of them could fit the money that the Braves are looking to spend. A 3 man LF platoon and Yepez could offer some at bats at DH and spell Olson if he ever takes any time off. Having some bench depth with positional versatility is not a bad thing and that is probably a cheaper option than shopping for a LF if they aren’t going to trade for 1. I know they have Grissom, but I’m not convinced he is the LF option right now
It would be cool to see how many homers Mike Ford could get with 500-600 at bats in a season.