Two Padres hurlers, Jarred Cosart and Christian Friedrich, have elected free agency after being outrighted off of the team’s 40-man roster. The club announced the moves today.
Cosart, 27, was projected to earn $1.3MM via arbitration. The Friars obviously weren’t willing to stake that much on a rebound for a pitcher that has dealt with arm problems. Cosart will spend the winter working back from elbow surgery, the details and outlook of which are not really clear.
Since landing in San Diego — as a buy-low candidate included in everyone’s favorite quirky 2016 deadline deal — Cosart has posted a 5.58 ERA through 61 1/3 innings. With as many strikeouts as walks (42 apiece) on his ledger, there were clearly concerns about performance even when he was healthy.
Meanwhile, Friedrich was slated to take home something in the ballpark of his projected $1.79MM arbitration value. The 30-year-old lefty did not appear in 2017 while dealing with elbow problems of his own. In total, he owns 5.37 ERA across 296 2/3 MLB innings.
