MLB: Hit and miss, six Phillies players go into free agency

The Philadelphia Phillies announced that six players, the outfielders Odúbel Herrera and Travis Jankowski, Venezuelan infielder Ronald Torreyes, catcher Andrew Knapp and Dominican right-handed pitchers Ramon Rosso and JD Hammer, have exceeded the absolute exemptions. Every member of that group has chosen free agency.

Venezuelan Herrera is the most notable of this group, although it was evident that his time in the Philadelphia organization was coming to an end when the team declined his option on Wednesday:

He has less than six major league service seasons, so technically he was still eligible for arbitration, but it was an obvious no-bid decision at the time. Rather than wait until next month’s no-bid deadline, the Phils will release it and clear a spot on the poster a few weeks early.

The move officially ends Herrera’s six-year tenure in Philadelphia. Selected outside of the Rangers organization in the 2014 Rule 5 draft, the left-handed hitter offered strong production on both sides of the ball during his early major league seasons. The Phils rewarded him with a long-term extension in December 2016, but his production began to wane in 2019.

Herrera performed terribly for the first month and a half in 2019 before being arrested and charged with domestic battery. MLB suspended him for the remainder of that season, and Herrera spent all of last year in the minor leagues after being eliminated from the roster. He returned to the majors in 2021, serving as Philadelphia’s main center fielder and hitting a slightly below average .260 / .310 / .416 in 492 plate appearances:

Knapp has been a career Fili, appearing in the majors in each of the past five seasons. The backstop switch has mostly worked on reserve capacity, crushing in a brief 2020 run before tripping to a .152 / .215 / .214 mark on 159 trips to the plate last season.

Projected by MLB Trade Rumors contributor Matt Swartz for a salary of $ 1.2MM if an arbitration contract is presented, they will let him go as the Phillies look elsewhere for a replacement for JT Realmuto.

Torreyes and Jankowski have rebounded in the league as role players in recent seasons. Both players were eligible for arbitration, with Torreyes projected for a salary of $ 1.6MM and Jankowski scheduled to earn around $ 900K. The Phils will let both go and look elsewhere to fill their respective utility infield and backup outfielder roles. Torreyes hit .242 / .286 / .346 in 344 plate appearances in 2021; Jankowski dropped .252 / .364 / .351 by 157 points at the plate.

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Neither Rosso nor Hammer had been eligible for arbitration, but headquarters decided to reallocate their spots on the 40-man roster. Rosso posted a 6.11 / 4.95 SIERA ERA in 17 2/3 innings combined by MLB between 2020-21. Hammer owns a 4.38 ERA / 5.07 SIERA in 39 entries dating from 2019.

Rafael Martinez

I am fond of the King of Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox in MLB and in general all of Mexican baseball. This profession has given me the opportunity to cover major events such as the Caribbean Series, LMB All Star, LMP (uninterrupted since 2009), signings of important players. I had the chance to attend the 2013 World Classic in Arizona, USA, albeit as a fan. Apart from this beautiful sport, I love basketball, where I have also narrated games and even an NBA friendly 10 years ago, but I carry baseball in my veins. Bachelor of Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) , from which I graduated in 2011. I was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and started in the world of sports journalism in 2004 in the newspaper El Sol de Mazatlán, where I was a baseball columnist and reporter at the same time. In January 2009 I came to El Debate as a journalist reporter and it was almost six years (in the first stage), until in November 2014 I emigrated to the radio providing my services in Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and after a few days, El Debate gave me another opportunity to work and opened the doors for me again. That is how I came to Al Bat, where I have been since 2019 as a web journalist.

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