For Phillies, deadline is today for Werth arbitration
The Phillies have a decision to make today. Or, rather, they have a decision to announce today. Because at this point, the decision to offer Jayson Werth arbitration is a mere formality.
The Phillies have a decision to make today. Or, rather, they have a decision to announce today. Because at this point, the decision to offer Jayson Werth arbitration is a mere formality.
What does that mean?
Long story short: The Phillies will have the right to receive draft-pick compensation if, as expected, another team signs the free-agent rightfielder. To exercise that right, they must first offer him a chance to come back to the team on a 1-year salary determined by a panel of arbitrators. The final day to do so is today.
Technically, Werth could accept that offer (the deadline to do so is Nov. 30). But that would require him to postpone the opportunity to sign a hefty multiyear contract. And nobody expects that to happen.
The biggest unknown is what type of value the Phillies will receive if Werth does, in fact, sign elsewhere. The only guarantee is that they will get two draft picks, one of them landing somewhere in the supplemental round of the draft (between the first and second rounds).
In all likelihood, the other draft pick will be a first-rounder. But that depends on a number of variables.
Here is a quick primer on the process:
At the end of the season, the Elias Sports Bureau uses a complex formula to rate every player in the major leagues based on their performance over the past two seasons. The top 20 percent at each of five position groupings are classified as Type A, and the next 20 percent as Type B.
Werth is a Type A player. In fact, he is the highest-rated free agent this year, according to a copy of the Elias Rankings obtained by the Daily News. Werth's rating is 91.807. The compensation for a Type A player who signs elsewhere as a free agent is two draft picks. One pick is in the supplemental round, which falls between the first and second round. The other pick is the highest selection of the team that signs the player.
The catch: The top 15 picks in the first round of the draft are protected. Because of compensation picks for Arizona, San Diego and Milwaukee in this year's first round, the top 18 picks are actually protected. If a team with a protected first-round pick signed Werth, the Phillies would receive that team's second-round pick.
The vast majority of teams with protected picks are unlikely to be in the market for Werth, with the possible exception of the Los Angeles Angels.
Teams with unprotected picks: Tigers (19), Rockies (20), Blue Jays (21), Cardinals (22), White Sox (23), Red Sox (24), Padres (25), Rangers (26), Reds (27), Braves (28), Giants (29), Twins (30), Yankees (31), Rays (32), Phillies (33).
Even if a team loses a Type A free agent to a team with an unprotected pick, it isn't guaranteed to receive a first-round pick. Why not? If a team signs more than one Type A free agent, its draft picks are doled out in order of those free agents' Elias Rankings. The Phillies do not have to worry about that, since Werth is the highest-rated free agent. But they do not plan on offering arbitration to righthander Chad Durbin, a Type B free agent. Two years ago, the Phillies did not offer arbitration to Pat Burrell, a Type A, or Jamie Moyer, a Type B.
Lopes to Dodgers
Davey Lopes, whose 4-year tenure as the Phils' first-base coach ended after the season when the two sides could not agree to a contract, joined Don Mattingly's Dodgers staff at the same position.
Tim Wallach was hired to coach third for Los Angeles. First-base coach Mariano Duncan, third-base coach Larry Bowa and bench coach Bob Schaefer won't return to the Dodgers.
Parent promoted
Former big-leaguer Mark Parent, who guided Class A Lakewood to the South Atlantic League title in his first year as manager, was promoted to Double A Reading. He will remain with a star-studded minor league cast that includes former big-leaguers Ryne Sandberg at Triple A Lehigh Valley and Mickey Morandini at short-season Williamsport. Taking over at Lakewood is Chris Truby, who managed Williamsport this year. *
For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese. Follow him on Twitter at