Update: Francisco, Kendrick officially tendered
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Update: Francisco, Kendrick officially tendered
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
UPDATE, 4:21 p.m. -- As expected, the Phillies have tendered contracts to both Ben Francisco and Kyle Kendrick, meaning both will get to work out deals with the club or have their salary decided by an arbitration panel.
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Nine years ago today, Enron filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection, capping one of the most prodigious falls in American corporate history, not to mention forcing the Astros to change their stadium name from the Paper Shredder to the Juice Box. A decade later, Enron Field is nothing but a memory, and business is pretty damn good in baseball. That really has nothing to do with what you are about to read, but whatever. . .
Today is the non-tender deadline in major league baseball, meaning teams must offer contracts to their arbitration-eligible players by midnight, or those players will become free agents.
The Phillies only have two such players -- right fielder Ben Francisco and righthander Kyle Kendrick -- and neither are strong candidates to be non-tendered. The Phils could theoretically save some money -- maybe a couple million bucks -- by non-tendering Kendrick. But the starting pitching market is really weak this year, and $2 million or whatever Kendrick would make through arbitration really isn't a horrible price to pay for pitching depth, even if the Phils anticipate Vance Worley pushing Kendrick for the No. 5 spot in the rotation.
Francisco, meanwhile, could see his playing time increase next season if Jayson Werth ends up signing elsewhere. Francisco has just 301 plate appearances since joining the Phillies in the Cliff Lee trade in July of 2009. But he has posted decent numbers when called upon: .272/.323/.471, .794 OPS, 9/13 stolen bases, 41 RBI. He also hit lefties very well last season, posting a .901 OPS with six home run in 96 plate appearances.
Assuming they are tendered today, Francisco and Kendrick would not find out their 2011 salaries until somtime after Jan. 5, when the arbitration filing period begins.
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Jayson Werth has already been offered arbitration, and he has declined, meaning the Phillies will be able to recoup a couple of draft picks -- likely a pick in the first round and one in the supplemental round, which falls between the first and second round -- if Werth signs elsewhere.
It's better than nothing, of course. But the package really isn't as sexy as it sounds.
Granted, there are some big names who have been drafted with free agent compensation picks. Among them: Adam Wainwright, Jacoby Ellsbury, David Wright, Chris Coghlan, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes.
But they are the exceptions.
Of the 56 first-round compensation picks between 1999-2007, 32 ended up making the major leagues, and three went on to become All-Stars.
Of the 140 supplemental-round compensation picks during that same time period, 61 played in the majors and four became All-Stars.
For every Jacoby Ellsbury and Kyle Drabek there is a Billy Traber and Chris Bootcheck.
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Add another left-handed reliever to the already bustling market. According to Gordon Edes of ESPN, the Red Sox will not offer a contract to Hideki Okajima, who struggled last year after three strong seasons in Boston.
From 2007-09, Okajima averaged 66 appearances per season with a 2.72 ERA, 8.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and 0.9 HR/9. Last year, he appeared in 56 games, posting a 4.50 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.
Righties killed him last season (.936 OPS, 4 home runs in 100 at-bats), but he wasn't exactly dominant against lefties, who hit .284/.357/.375 with two home runs and a .732 OPS in 88 at-bats. That's a far cry from the previous three seasons, when lefties managed a .467 OPS in 2009, .547 OPS in 2008 and .648 OPS in 2007.
Okajima, who turns 35 on Dec. 25, earned a base salary of $2.75 million last season.
The Phillies have had reported interest in Reds lefty Arthur Rhodes and Mets lefties Pedro Feliciano and Hisanori Takahashi. Lefty Scott Downs was offered arbitration by the Blue Jays, making him an unlikely candidate since the Phils would have to part with a first-round draft pick. Two other right-handed relievers accepted arbitration: Rangers set-up man Frank Francisco and the Blue Jays' Jason Frasor.
What...no quotes from John Milton today...— stan the man too- So...Scott Downs is now ambidextrous...— stan the man too
- Speaking of Philadelphia sports fans, Milton said, "Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties." (Areopagitica, 1644).— smel4727
2 million dollars to kyle kendrick is an OUTRAGE. he is not a major league pitcher - guys like him a truly a dime a dozen. go with worley or another youngster with some upside, and put the 2 mil into the bullpen and/or into strengthening the bench.— CosmoK- Arthur Rhodes??? Can't be serious. Yea last year was his best, but do we really need another 50yr old pitcher?— trashman
- now why did you have to go and throw Bootcheck under the bus like that...
Comment removed.- I live in New England and see the Red Sox a fair amount. We don't want anything to do with Okajima. He has a weird and distracting delivery, which helped him for a short time in the AL. But the hitters have caught onto that now and his stuff is very hittable -- straight fastball in the upper 80s and no really dramatic off-speed pitch. He was really pounded last season and injuries had nothing to do with it. With Kendrick, a lot of teams would jump on him for $2 million per. He could be a 4th or 5th starter on many losing clubs. Plus, we need to keep his new wife in the stands as much as possible.
— eman - The Phils paid Moyer 9 million last year so 2 mill isn't outrageous for KK. I don't think he's anything special but you do need depth as the season goes on and at least KK has showed he can pitched a decent game every now and then. I hope Worley can win the job cleanly but if he can't or if someone goes down KK is an adequate fill in. Unless you people want to see if Joe Roa is still available.— youpeoplehaveissues
- Yea Arthur Rhodes is exactly what we need. I wonder if we can get Jose' Mesa too? And while we're at it bring back Tom Gordon.— mundiff
- so the phillies have no interest in lefty Scott Downs.....but are interested in righty Scott Downs??— dennis14
- I understand your calculations of the compensation picks, but in baseball isn't EVERY pick that kind of measureable risk? So, doesn't the saying "the more the merrier" apply? The more high end picks we have, the better shot at a good player? Its a crapshoot no matter what, so if we have 3 picks in the Top 60, I'd say it was fair for Werth. Here is someone we got off of a literal scrap heap. We have already outgained our initial investment by a ton. I'm ok and optimistic about what we can possibly do with that return of the compensation picks.— Jaylangus100
- Relax. Kendrick has won 35 times in less than 4 full MLB seasons and is 35-24 in that stretch. High ERA, but that's not bad for a 5th starter or eventual long reliever. Bigger issues is that the former #1 round pick, Blanton, got a huge contract from the Phils based on his 2005-2007 Oakland stats and didn't perform. And bigger issues are Werth, a right handed bat, and our aging infield.— MichaelZoe
- if jermaine dye can play some centerfield, he'd be a good werth replacement and he's got a ring and he's very good in the clutch;.....but, he's been away from the game for a year,....otherwise Rube should re-up werth,.....any werth replacement needs to be able to spell Shane in center otherwise you'll need to sign 2,.....we should offer contracts to Capps or Joba both are non-tendered although you can't see Cashman letting Joba walk realistically,......and are we reading this right that Hunter Pence is non-tendered????— SyddBarrett
- I can't agree with Murp on the draft picks. You could cite similar failure rates for first round draft picks overall. It doesn't matter where the picks came from, the MLB draft is a major crapshoot. 3 out of 5 picks becoming major leaguers is not actually too bad of a ratio. Two cracks at a top 40 or 50 draft pick for Werth sounds pretty good to me right now. Using Murph's numbers, that means that we have a 93 out of 196 chance of finding a major leaguer between those two picks, which is basically 50-50, which means we probably get 1 major leaguer out of it. Add in our own orignal pick and I'd say our chances of adding major league quality talent to a minor league pool of talent that already is pretty good has gone way up. I'll definitely take that.— Bill Lame Beer
- Yeh - I think all draft picks are a crapshoot. For every 10 Billy Trabers, there is a 5th round Ryan Howard or a 20th round Dom Brown. So it increases your probability of success.
I am really starting to think we just let Francisco have the chance to win it or platoonwith Dom. I dont think hes as bad defensively as some say.
We gave Werth a chance at 28 and he blossomed.....sometimes people bloom later.
— shova 
For the Blanton haters: Joe was 3-0 in Sept 2010, 3.19 ERA (the Phils were 6-0 in his Sept starts), 2-0 in August 2010, 2.81 ERA (the Phils were 4-1 in his August Starts). The one loss was 3-2 to the Astros in a game where the "O" didn't show up. In those 2 months (Aug & Sept), Blanton pitched 6+ innings in 9 of the 11 games (with one of the remaining 2 he pitched 5.2 innings). You have to remember that Blanton started the season with an oblique injury....to a pitcher, that's a serious injury. In August and Sept, he gave up 4 earned runs only 3 times, the rest of his starts: 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 0. You have to respect how Blanton came back in the final 2 months of the season off a nagging injury for a pitcher.
Murphy you are a clown, and way to impressed with your bad self. If you think Kendrick is not worth 2 mil, you are an idiot.- @mundiff - They may as well check if Ugueth is out of prison yet. On another note - Bobby Jenks, George Sherrill and Kyle Davies are all rumored to be on the bubble as well. Any of them would be an upgrade over most of what marched out of the pen this year.— jcu123
- I definitely want Blanton on our team, not someone else's team. He is a hard worker, has a good attitude. His injury had long reaching effects, even though he was able to pitch in the 2nd half. He will give us a good year next year as he wants the league to know that we have 4 quality starters, not just 3. Let Werth go-platoon Ben/Dom. If Ben can do the job, then he is our leftfielder after Ibanez is gone. If we re-sign Werth, say goodbye to Brown.
- i have to assume that the jermaine dye comment is a joke. he was a very bad outfielder even when he played.— sunking11
- Comment removed.
- I'm with mundiff!— ehpvirgo
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"For every Jacoby Ellsbury and Kyle Drabek there is a Billy Traber and Chris Bootcheck."
Ridiculous statement. You can say that about any round in the draft. Not many players make it to the Majors period. Not just the 1st two rounds. C'mom man get it together. That stat is meaningless.
If we get this for Werth then fine. Better than zip. As far as Werth goes I like him as a player but just "how much Freekin' money do you need??" I'm done with it. He should just go and the Phightins' will move on.
— Phillyexp - To respond to a couple of comments: I never said first round draft picks weren't valuable, and I never said Kyle Kendrick wasn't worth $2 million. In fact I think I said the opposite about Kendrick. About the picks: I never said more wasn't merrier, or that the Phillies should turn down the picks. I just stated a fact to offer some perspective on the type of value a compensation pick has.
- if Werth signs somewhere else... I think the draft picks are better than nothing. Although I think he will sign here. I don't think the money is as strong as he expected
— BBAX - Look at Murphy getting in on the action. Even thought the draft in any sport can be a crapshoot at least the Phils stand to get something in return. And the picks they get could potentially turn into productive Major League players. The Phils have given up picks for FA's they've signed. Jim Thome comes to mind. In a perfect world Werth would come back and be a key part of this team but if he's gonna leave at least the phils have a chance to add some more pieces for the future. And KK for 2 mill, as a #5 starter, is not a bad deal. Remember they paid Moyer $9 million last year to be essentially a 4/5. Kendrick is at least as good as Moyer and a lot cheaper. I'd rather have him than have to sign another Rodrigo Lopez off the scrap heap in July if anyone gets hurt.— youpeoplehaveissues
- 1) Antionio Bastardo over A. Rhodes any day of the week. Sign Feliciano and those are your 2 lefties.
2) As already said more congently here, tendering KK is a no-brainer.
3) Don't sleep on Brandon Moss in RF this year. Remember, he was the centerpiece of the Bay trade for the Pirates. Sure, he struggled in Pitt -- doesn't everyone? Sure he hits LH -- but a platoon of Moss/Fransisco gives Dom another half-season in LV to work on the defense.— NCNovaguy - SanFran_Champs....Congratulations on your team's victory. But you're awfully cocky for someone who hasn't had a celebration like this since the Eisenhower administration!!!— HisWhiteness
- Sign Feliciano just to keep him Howard and Utley from facing him again. Jesus he kills them.— maximusud
- Who is this David Murphy guy posting on this site? Doesn't he know all posters are anonymous? As for Kendrick: as John Milton said, "Kendrick hath been passable as ye fifth starter."— chuckw
- In one paragraph, you state that the majority of first round compensation picks are busts and then in the netx paragraph state that the Phillies won't go for Downs because they would have to give up a first round pick. So what is it? Either the pick is valuable or it isn't.....— bmcw
- BMCW - Valuable enough that you wouldn't give one up to overpay for a reliever like Downs, but not nearly valuable enough to make up for the loss of a player like Werth.
- Signing Arthur would give BillyChair at least a dozen more columns worth of historical drivel.— NewMick314
Ugh, any time Kendrick is put into a game, the Phillies are conceding victory. He just is NOT a major league pitchers, yet the Phillies continue to cart him out there and try and trick us and tell us that he is.
