The sometimes arduous task of the arbitration process should be relatively easy work for the new-look Phillies front office and their rebuilding roster this winter.
Just three Phillies were eligible for arbitration and all three went through the formality of filing prior to Tuesday’s deadline. Shortstop Freddy Galvis, starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and reliever Jeanmar Gomez were among the 156 players who filed according to Major League Baseball Players Association.
Only three teams have fewer arbitration-eligible players than the Phillies: the San Francisco Giants and two other rebuilding teams, the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds.
Tuesday’s filing is hardly as interesting as the next part of the arbitration process: on Friday, those same players and their respective teams will exchange salary figures for the 2016 season. Both parties can avoid Friday by coming to an agreement on a contract prior to Friday.
If players and teams do not come to agreements in the next month, they would go to arbitration hearings next month. It’s highly unlikely the Phillies will have to go that route with Galvis, Hellickson or Gomez.
Galvis, 26, is in his first year of arbitration coming off his first season as the team’s regular shortstop. Seen as a placeholder at the position for top prospect J.P. Crawford, Galvis hit .263 with a .302 OBP in 151 games in 2015. Galvis earned $513,500 during that season; according to mlbtraderumors.com’s salary arbitration projections, he is likely to earn somewhere in the $1.9 million range this season.
According to those same calculations, Hellickson is projected to make $6.6 million in 2016 and Gomez could earn $1.5 million.
Hellickson, who turns 29 in April, is in his third year of arbitration. He earned $4.275 million last season with Arizona, where he went 9-12 with a 4.62 ERA in 27 starts.
Gomez, in his second year of arbitration, made $800,000 last season with the Phillies. Signed as a free agent a year ago today, Gomez, who turns 28 next month, was a useful piece in the bullpen last year with a 3.01 ERA in 65 games and 50 strikeouts and 17 walks in 74 2/3 innings.
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