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Now that we’ve wrapped up the final games of the 2025 MLB season and crowned a champion, it’s just about time to start turning our collective attentions towards the offseason and all of its fun happenings. There are always plenty of notable dates and events to know during your standard MLB offseason, but for now we’ve got our eyes set on salary arbitration and the deadline for teams to either tender or non-tender certain players. The entire arbitration process typically requires a lengthy explanation, but let me do what I can to break it down in an easy to digest manner. What Is MLB’s Salary Arbitration? For the first three years of a player’s big league career, they are paid right around the league minimum. In each of the next three years, player and organization come together to try and negotiate what said player’s salary will be. Ahead of a player’s fourth, fifth, and sixth years of MLB service, they will have to negotiate a new salary, before eventually hitting free agency ahead of the seventh year. Players bring a desired salary figure to the table, along with a list of arguments for why they deserve the pay bump. Organizations’ decision makers come to the table to poke holes and identify why said players doesn’t deserve the pay raise as they’re looking for. Obviously, this can cause some hurt feelings. If an agreement isn’t reached by a mid-January deadline, the arguments are brought before a panel who will then either side with the player or the team’s figure. What Does it Mean to be Non-Tendered? But then there’s another alternative: the team doesn’t want to offer the player a contract at all. This is called non-tendering, and it results in a trip to free agency. Every offseason there’s a long list of players who get non-tendered. Most times this happens because a team doesn’t think their player is worth his likely new salary. Then there are some who are on the long-term injured list and teams don’t see the need to pay them just to recover from an injury. If Player X is going to be on the IL for all of 2026 and is set to hit free agency following the 2026 campaign, why would his current team raise his pay? There are also going to be a slew of players, nearly all minor league prospects, who will need to be added to their organization’s 40-man roster. If a team has eight players they want to protect from the Rule 5 Draft this winter, there’s no better way to free up some roster spots than by handing out non-tenders to players who won’t play important roles in the team’s immediate future. Of course, this also can also result in a new contractual agreement coming together even after a non-tender. This is exactly what happened last offseason between Brandon Woodruff and the Milwaukee Brewers. This year, teams have until November 21 to determine whether or not they are going to tender contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players. Let’s look around the league and determine which candidates could be sent packing. Top Non-Tender Candidates in the 2025-26 MLB Offseason *All projected arbitration figures included below are from MLBTR’s Matt Swartz and his annual projections. Arizona Diamondbacks RHP Kevin Ginkel ($3 million) OF Jake McCarthy ($1.9 million) LHP A.J. Puk ($3.3 million) UTIL Ildemaro Vargas ($1.4 million) The Diamondbacks have 11 players up for arbitration this winter, with many being locks to come back. Gabriel Moreno, Ryne Nelson, Alek Thomas, Pavin Smith, and a few others have nothing to worry about. The same can’t be said for this bunch. Ginkel, 31, has been an oft-used weapon for the Dbacks for years now, but he experienced a significant regression in 2025. His 7.36 ERA across 29 outings, not to mention a bloated H/9 and BB/9, have his job security up in the air. His season ended prematurely thanks to a shoulder sprain, so there just wasn’t much going his way in 2025. He’s not a lock to be sent packing, but the Dbacks surely have enough reasons to move on. McCarthy has shown plenty of promise since debuting in the big leagues in 2021, but he was dreadful in 2025 and the Dbacks now must decide whether or not they want to continue this experiment. As of now, he’s not much more than a fourth outfielder. At his best, Puk can be one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball. He was limited to just eight outings this year and underwent Tommy John surgery in June. This will keep him out for most, if not all, of 2026. This is one of those cases where the Dbacks are likely not interested in paying Puk just to rehab, as he’s a free agent after the 2026 season. Vargas, 34, is a pesky and versatile switch-hitter, but he had a .674 OPS in 38 games this year. His flexibility is nice, but it’s not hard to see the Snakes cutting bait (again) and opting to find more offense for their bench. OF JJ Bleday ($2.2 million) RHP Luis Medina ($900K) LHP Ken Waldichuk ($900K) C Austin Wynns ($1.8 million) The A’s have five players up for arbitration, but it feels like the only one that’ll be brought back is Shea Langeliers, who’s emerged as one of the game’s top slugging catchers. Bleday, 28 in a few weeks, impressed in 2024 but took a significant step back in 2025. His strikeout rate skyrocketed, his wRC+ cratered from 120 to 90, and he also continued to be awful defensively. The simple fact that the A’s have a handful of better players they could slot into their lineup could be more than enough for them to send Bleday out. Originally acquired in the Frankie Montas trade with the Yankees in August of 2022, Medina ate innings on the 2023 and 2024 A’s but missed all of this past season due to a Tommy John surgery. At just 26 years of age, Medina is still relatively young, but the A’s need to ask themselves if he’s really going to wind up being a part of their next competitive team or not. Waldichuk, 27, was also involved in the trade with Medina. The southpaw underwent Tommy John in 2024, but he returned to action in Triple-A this July. The result? 16 starts (and one relief outing) and an 8.17 ERA across 54 innings of work. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that that’s not going to cut it. For a few weeks, Wynns was one of the best offensive catchers in baseball. This earned him a trade to the A’s, where he could get the consistent playing time he appeared to have earned. He wound up making it into 22 games, hitting .222 with a .687 OPS and 30% strikeout rate before a season-ending abdominal injury took him out of action. He’s not coming back. Atlanta Braves UTIL Vidal Bruján ($800K) RHP Alek Manoah ($2.2 million) RHP Joel Payamps ($3.4 million) LHP Joey Wentz ($1.1 million) The Braves have a nine players up for arbitration, and every one of them has a case for a non-tender, but we’ve narrowed down the list. Bruján, 27, is a light-hitting utilityman who doesn’t serve a purpose on this team outside of being minor league filler. He’s out of options so it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the club effectively chooses Nick Allen over him to be next year’s backup shortstop. Manoah and Payamps are both in similar boats. Neither of the right-handers are completely deserving of the pay raises they’re projected to receive, but they both have histories of success that could work in their favor. Manoah is a starting pitcher, which is something the Braves could use more of, but it’s also been years since he’s been valuable. One would think that the club wouldn’t have acquired him if they didn’t intend to tender him a contract this winter, but things can change. Payamps was solid for the Brewers in 2023 and 2024 but the wheels fell off this year. If the Braves are looking for experienced arms in next year’s bullpen, he could come back, but don’t be surprised if they simply don’t feel he’s worth a contract north of $3 million. Wentz, 28, can fill a variety of different roles on a staff, but he’s never been great at the big league level. His 3.43 FIP in 64 innings on the 2025 Braves instills more confidence than his 4.92 ERA, but he’s another player that just might not be enough of a needle-mover to come back. With his $1.1 million arb estimate, he wouldn’t be sucking up much of Atlanta’s 2026 payroll, but he’s a candidate for a non-tender nonetheless. Baltimore Orioles RHP Yennier Cano ($1.8 million) OF Dylan Carlson ($1.5 million) 1B Ryan Mountcastle ($7.8 million) Relief pitchers can be oh-so volatile, and Cano is an excellent example of that. He’s basically gone from 2023 All-Star to a candidate to be cut loose in just two years’ time. The right-hander was still an oft-used arm in the Orioles’ bullpen in 2025, but the numbers weren’t great. His strikeout rate dipped while he saw a spike in H/9, HR/9, and BB/9. Not a great combination. Carlson, 27, was once considered to be a shiny top prospect who could be the next big thing on the Cardinals. Now he’s six years into his big league career and hasn’t been even remotely valuable since 2021. His .614 OPS in 83 games on the Orioles wasn’t exactly noteworthy, and if the club is aiming to return to contention in short order, there’s not really room for a player like this on the roster. Then there’s Mountcastle, who’s been on the Orioles for six years now. He’s a power-hitting first baseman who is capable of being an above-average run producer, but didn’t look the part in 2025. He made it into just 89 games, hitting seven home runs while sporting a .653 OPS. Once Coby Mayo finds his footing at the MLB level, the Orioles simply won’t have a need for a bench bat that’s projected to make nearly $8 million. Boston Red Sox RHP Tanner Houck ($3.95 million) 1B Nathaniel Lowe ($13.5 million) C Connor Wong ($1.6 million) Another former All-Star who would’ve never made a list like this a year ago, Houck has an interesting case here. The right-hander is a well-liked, homegrown talent, but he’s also going to be out for all of 2026 and may have to settle for a shortened season in 2027 with a potential lockout looming. The Red Sox could opt to non-tender him only to turn around and re-sign him to a new multi-year contract, but he’s a non-tender candidate either way. Then there’s Lowe, who hit well in his 34-game stint on the Red Sox down the stretch. Despite the fact that he hit .280 with a pair of home runs and a .790 OPS, it’s going to be very, very difficult to justify paying him the $13.5 million he’s projected to earn in arbitration. Wong looked like he could’ve been turning a corner in 2024 when he hit .280 with 13 home runs, 52 RBI, and a .758 OPS while getting everyday reps as the Red Sox primary catcher. Then he made it into just 63 games in 2025 while hitting .190 and sporting a .500 OPS. He’s been passed up on the depth chart by Carlos Narvaez and could easily be replaced by a low-cost veteran backup this winter. Chicago Cubs RHP Eli Morgan ($1.1 million) C Reese McGuire ($1.9 million) Of the four Cubs who are up for arbitration this winter, Justin Steele and Javier Assad are the only two whose jobs are safe. Morgan, 29, made it into seven games for the Cubs this year in what was an injury-plagued campaign for him. He surrendered 10 runs on 12 hits (12.27 ERA) but also had a 1.93 ERA across 32 relief outings for the Guardians in 2024. Candidate? Yes. Lock to be cut? Not quite, especially at that price tag. The Cubs may want to see what they can get from him when he’s got health fully on his side. McGuire is an eight-year veteran who’s never shown much with the bat but is a decent pitch framer behind the dish. He hit a career-high nine home runs in just 44 games in 2025, but he’s behind Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya on the depth chart. If Moises Ballesteros ends up getting reps back there next year as well, there’s not going to be any playing time for McGuire. Now that he’s on the wrong side of 30, he’s much more likely to become a journeyman starting next year rather than be brought back to the Cubs. Chicago White Sox OF Derek Hill ($1 million) There’s a chance the White Sox wind up non-tendering all three of their arb-eligible players (Hill, Mike Tauchman, Steven Wilson), but of the bunch, Hill seems the likeliest to go. The 29-year-old outfielder doesn’t hit much, but he’s one of the fastest players in all of baseball, which has to count for something. He plays a mean center field as well, as he put up 8 DRS and 5 OAA in 330 innings in 2025. However, Hill is optionless and won’t have much of a role on the White Sox. Does the club, still hopelessly mired in a rebuild, bring him back in his age-30 season just to ride the bench, or give that roster spot to a Braden Montgomery? Cincinnati Reds LHP Sam Moll ($1.2 million) The Reds have a ton of players up for arbitration, but most of them have nothing to worry about. Tyler Stephenson, Nick Lodolo, Brady Singer, Spencer Steer, and a handful of others aren’t going anywhere. Santiago Espinal and Ian Gibaut have both been outrighted off of the Reds’ 40-man roster, so they are no longer non-tender candidates. Each of them were likely headed towards the open market anyway, as they had down years for the Reds in 2025. The Reds have gotten a lot of mileage out of Moll’s arm over the past few years, but he’s on the wrong side of 30 and it’s difficult to see him fitting on next year’s squad. He’s been decent for them in the past, but I’m not sure he’s shown enough to show that he must be brought back for another go-round in 2026. Cleveland Guardians OF Will Brennan ($900K) OF Nolan Jones ($2 million) RHP Ben Lively ($2.7 million) Brennan has appeared in parts of four seasons with the Guardians, but he didn’t post an OPS above .700 in either of his two full years in 2023-2024. He made it into just six contests for the team this year before a June Tommy John surgery wiped him out for the rest of the season. For Brennan and Jones, who the Guardians brought back for a second go-round (unsuccessfully) this past year, their futures on the club are mostly uncertain due to the fact that there are some young guns coming up to take their jobs. Not only are Chase DeLauter (Just Baseball’s No. 2 Guardians prospect), George Valera, and C.J. Kayfus (JB Guardians No. 11) going to need places to play, but Angel Genao (JB Guardians No. 3), Kahlil Watson, Austin Peterson, and a slew of other prospects are going to need 40-man roster spots this winter in order to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. Other than the two outfielders, Lively has the highest odds of being cut loose. The 33-year-old right-hander is out for 2026 (Tommy John) and while he’s been a great starter for Cleveland over the past few years, the odds of him returning in 2027 at 35 and continuing to shove feel low. He’s another example of a pitcher who would basically get paid to sit on the shelf for a year, and the pitching-hungry Guardians should use that money elsewhere. Colorado Rockies Lucas Gilbreath would’ve been the Rockies’ lone representative here, but he recently elected free agency. Detroit Tigers RHP Beau Brieske ($1.3 million) INF Andy Ibáñez ($1.8 million) RHP Alex Lange ($900K) RHP Tanner Rainey ($1.6 million) UTIL Matt Vierling ($3.1 million) Brieske, 27, performed well for the Tigers in both 2023 and 2024 but the 2025 campaign was an injury-shortened one that he struggled mightily in. The right-hander made 22 appearances (none after June 11), posting a 6.55 ERA and 6.27 FIP before elbow issues ended his year prematurely. He’s still relatively young, but simply may not be an ideal fit on this club’s roster moving forward. Ibáñez is a 32-year-old infielder who can play a handful of different positions, but he’s another player that just doesn’t seem like a great fit for 2026. He’s posted an OPS right around .650 in each of the past two years, doesn’t have a whole lot of power, and just isn’t great enough at any specific aspect of his game to justify keeping him rostered. For just one year, Lange felt like he could be a decent option to close games for the Tigers. He recorded 26 saves across 67 appearances in 2023, but he has struggled to stay consistent and healthily on the field. The right-hander made just one (scoreless) appearance for the Tigers this year and had a 4.63 ERA through 24 Triple-A games as well. His arbitration projection is extremely low, so he could easily be brought back at this price tag, but he’s a non-tender candidate nonetheless. Rainey, who will be 33 by the time Opening Day 2026 rolls around, is an eight-year veteran who hasn’t put together an above-average season at the big league level since 2022. The right-hander had a combined 11.17 ERA through 13 games between the Pirates and Tigers this year and couldn’t possibly be more of a non-tender no-brainer. Vierling has been on the Tigers for three years now, and 2025 was easily the worst of the bunch for him. He hit just one home run while driving in 11 across 31 games. His .239 average and .617 OPS doesn’t instill a whole lot of confidence, and this collective underperformance may have bought him a one-way ticket out of town. While he fills a few different needs on this roster, both offensively and defensively, Vierling’s down year might’ve been just enough to allow him to be passed up on the 40-man roster. Houston Astros RHP Enyel De Los Santos ($2.1 million) OF Jesús Sánchez ($6.5 million) OF Taylor Trammell ($900K) INF Ramón Urías ($4.4 million) De Los Santos has spent time on eight different team’s big league roster since he broke into the league back in 2018. Yet, he’s still just 29 years of age. The right-hander signed with the Astros in August and made 22 appearances for them down the stretch. All told, he wound up with a 4.03 ERA and 4.70 FIP across 22.1 innings in Houston. He saw an uptick in strikeouts during this stint, but he hardly did enough to guarantee he’s got a job on this team next year. Sánchez, a trade deadline acquisition, basically could not have performed any worse for the Astros in the second half. The six-year veteran hit just .199 with a .611 OPS through 48 games on the Astros, and if Chas McCormick (who’s already been outrighted off the roster) isn’t being brought back, neither is Sánchez, plain and simple. Another well-traveled player who can’t nail down a long-term home, Trammell hit .197 in 52 games on the Astros. He’s always been known for his defensive prowess, but he had -4 DRS in left field this past season and has never once posted a batting average above .197 in his career. The cons vastly outweigh the pros, so there’s basically no chance he’s in an Astros uniform come 2026. Urías, 31, is the wild-card in this group. Both he and Mauricio Dubón are arb-eligible this winter, and it’s difficult to see the Astros keeping both. I’m siding with Dubón, who Houston seems to love as an oft-used, glove-first utilityman. Urías hit .223 with a .640 OPS in 35 games for the Astros after coming over at this year’s deadline, and also had an outstanding defensive showing at second base for them, but it’s hard to see him fitting into their plans for next season. If anything, it’s possible the Astros tender him a contract and trade him before Opening Day. Kansas City Royals LHP Bailey Falter ($3.3 million) UTIL Jonathan India ($7.4 million) LHP Sam Long ($950K) OF MJ Melendez ($2.65 million) Yet another trade from this year’s deadline that didn’t pan out at all. Falter, 28, has been a serviceable hurler over the years that can fill multiple different roles on a pitching staff. His tenure on the Royals wound up consisting of two starts and two relief outings, resulting in a cumulative 11.25 ERA through 12 innings. A biceps injury ultimately ended his season prematurely after those four games. The southpaw simply doesn’t fit on a 2026 Royals staff that will already be full of arms ready to eat innings. The Royals understandably had high hopes for India, who largely failed to deliver on the hype as the Reds’ one-time top prospect. The career infielder tried his hand in the outfield and had -2 DRS and -3 OAA in nearly 150 innings as a left fielder, but he also didn’t hit at all. India, 29 in mid-December, played 136 games but hit just nine home runs with a .233 average and .669 OPS. The Royals, who are actively looking to field a contender, will surely look elsewhere rather than pay him north of $7 million. Long, 30, saw his numbers regress from 2024 to 2025 in basically every way. He’s not projected to make much next year through arbitration, but he didn’t excel in any one category that makes him a must-have on the Royals’ team next year. He’s also out of minor league options, so the Royals would have to DFA him anyway if they wanted to try and stash him in Triple-A. Long’s only going to earn what’ll feel like pennies to the Royals, but it’s not worth it. Then there’s Melendez, another former top prospect who hasn’t been able to cash in on the expectations. The 26-year-old has parts of four years in the big leagues under his belt and he has yet to put up an above-average season by either Baseball Reference’s OPS+ or FanGraphs’ wRC+. He did hit 20 home runs with a 107 wRC+ in 107 Triple-A games this year and he still has a minor league option remaining, so the Royals are not guaranteed to move on from him this winter. Either way, he remains a candidate to be handed a non-tender. Los Angeles Angels The Angels have no representatives here, as Connor Brogdon, Carson Fulmer, and Carter Kieboom all elected free agency after passing through outright waivers. Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Tony Gonsolin ($5.4 million) RHP Michael Grove ($800K) RHP Evan Phillips ($6.1 million) C Ben Rortvedt ($1.3 million) It feels wrong have a player of Gonsolin’s pedigree on a list like this, but at this point, it’s unfortunately necessary. The right-hander is a former All-Star with multiple World Series rings, not to mention a ridiculous 2022 season in which he went 16-1 under his belt, but everything we’ve seen from him since then has been disappointing. He’s hurt all the time and hasn’t looked great when healthy, so do the Dodgers – who already have a million pitchers on their roster – want to re-up on another contract over $5 million? Grove, a soon-to-be 29-year-old, didn’t throw a pitch for the Dodgers at any level in 2025. The right-hander has almost 150 MLB innings to his name, but the Dodgers haven’t gotten much from him in the major or minor leagues to this point, so it’s worth wondering if they cut bait and decide to roll with what they’ve already got on hand. Despite the fact that he’s still controllable for three more seasons, Grove’s career MiLB ERA is 5.44 and MLB ERA is 5.48. Phillips, 31, has been an incredible revelation for the Dodgers over the past few years. He’s been rock solid, extremely consistent, and has even been a reliable option to close games for the perennial contenders. However, he’s projected to miss most, if not all, of the 2026 campaign and is going to be a free agent following the season. This is an obvious non-tender candidate, as the Dodgers likely won’t want to pay him north of $6 million to sit on the shelf. In parts of four years at the big league level, Rortvedt has turned himself into a well-traveled backstop. He’s not particularly great in any specific aspect of his game, but he’s a serviceable high-minors depth type of catcher that can handle a backup role at the MLB level as long as he isn’t relied upon for any long-term offensive prowess. The Dodgers have Will Smith and Dalton Rushing on hand already, so there’s little need to tender Rortvedt a contract for 2026. Maybe a non-tender and eventual minor league contract is more appropriate. Miami Marlins LHP Andrew Nardi ($800K) The Marlins enter this offseason with seven arbitration-eligible players, but six of them have little to no shot of being non-tendered. Andrew Nardi, on the other hand, has a case to be sent packing. This is a sentiment that MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola recently echoed in a late-October newsletter. Nardi, 27, struggled at the big league level in 2022 and 2024, but sandwiched between those two years was an outstanding 2023 showing. In 63 games that year, the left-hander posted a 2.67 ERA and 177 ERA+, striking out 11.5 batters per nine innings. He also allowed just a .104 batting average in high leverage situations (5-for-55) while striking out 22 batters. After setback upon setback, Nardi wound up not throwing a single pitch at the game’s highest level in 2025. While he’s projected to earn pennies on the dollar in 2026 through arbitration, the Marlins may feel as though they don’t have room for a fragile pitcher in his late 20’s who hasn’t given them anything of substance in multiple years. Milwaukee Brewers 1B/OF Jake Bauers ($2 million) The only even remote non-tender candidate the Brewers have this year is the 30-year-old Bauers. The six-year veteran posted a 114 wRC+ and was good for the occasional clutch hit in 2025, but isn’t exactly the type of player you want taking everyday at-bats on your club. Still, Rhys Hoskins is not being brought back, and the 2026 Brewers will need someone to back Andrew Vaughn up at first base. Bauers isn’t a star, but he’s a familiar asset, so it won’t be a complete shock here whichever way Milwaukee ends up going with him. Minnesota Twins LHP Génesis Cabrera ($1.4 million) OF Trevor Larnach ($4.7 million) LHP Anthony Misiewicz ($1.1 million) RHP Michael Tonkin ($1.4 million) Cabrera, 29, had a stint on the Cardinals a few years back where he looked to be a legitimate stud in the making in their bullpen. Fast forward a bit, and he just wrapped up a year in which he played at least six games for four different teams. His final stop on the Twins saw him make 16 games down the stretch, but his 7.98 ERA and even worse 8.25 FIP point to him being one of the easiest non-tenders you’ll find this offseason. There was a stretch of time where the Twins seemed to have one of the most promising outfield units in the game coming up through the ranks. A wide-spanning group consisting of Kepler, Wallner, Buxton, Kiriloff, and Larnach were all supposed to come up and carry this team for years. Kepler and Kiriloff are gone, and Larnach may not be far behind. The 28-year-old has been a consistent presence in the team’s lineup for each of the past two years and hasn’t posted an OPS above .771 (.727 in 2025). It wouldn’t be a stunner to see him kept around on this rebuilding squad, but he may not be worth a price tag that’s nearing $5 million. Misiewicz is frequently passed around the waiver wire and is certainly not long for this Twins team. The left-hander made it into five games for Minnesota in 2025, surrendering five runs on as many hits in just 4.2 innings of work. Since first debuting back in 2020, he’s largely functioned as organizational filler, but the Twins likely have seen enough. Tonkin, who’s soon to be 36 years of age, has spent nearly all of his eight-year MLB career on the Twins, but he’s currently in his second go-round in the organization. The 6-foot-7 right-hander made it into 21 games for the Twins in 2025, but he saw a dip in his strikeouts while sporting a 4.88 ERA and 4.80 FIP through 24 innings. These two sides have a ton of history, but there’s little point to keep him around in 2026. New York Mets RHP Max Kranick ($1 million) INF Nick Madrigal ($1.35 million) RHP Tylor Megill ($2.6 million) It wasn’t too long ago that Madrigal was a highly touted prospect in the farm system of both Chicago baseball teams. The light-hitting infielder never really amounted to much at the MLB level and spent all of 2025 on the shelf recovering from a left shoulder injury. The 28-year-old simply doesn’t offer enough to warrant a new contract as he doesn’t have much of a bat and is just a so-so defender. Kranick, 28, finally got an extended look at the MLB level in 2025 and rewarded the Mets handsomely. In 24 games as a reliever, he posted a 3.65 ERA and 3.95 FIP (111 ERA+) across 37 innings of work. 15 of his outings saw him record more than three outs, and he provided value to this team in more ways than one. Since he’s injured and going to be out for all of 2026, he’s a non-tender candidate. However, he’s got an uber-cheap arb projection and is still controllable through the end of the 2028 season. Don’t be surprised if he’s cut loose then re-signed to a new deal. Megill is in a similar boat to Kranick in that he will miss all of 2026. Megill just put up arguably his best season in the big leagues, albeit in a 14-start sample size, in 2025. However, the right-hander boasts a career 4.46 ERA and 4.24 FIP across 88 big league games, so the question is likely to become whether or not the club thinks there are innings with his name written on them come 2027. He could be non-tendered if they think the depth they’ve got on hand better fits their vision. New York Yankees RHP Jake Bird ($1 million) UTIL Oswaldo Cabrera ($1.2 million) RHP Jake Cousins ($841K) RHP Camilo Doval ($6.6 million) RHP Scott Effross ($800K) RHP Ian Hamilton ($941K) RHP Mark Leiter Jr. ($3 million) The Yankees acquired Bird in a deadline deal with the Rockies and immediately had buyer’s remorse. The right-hander made just three appearances for the Yankees, surrendering seven runs (six earned) on four hits before getting banished to the minor leagues. In Triple-A, he finished the year with a 6.32 ERA across 15 outings. This is a player you’ve already seen the last of on the Yankees. Cabrera broke his ankle in mid-May and didn’t return for the rest of the year. The switch-hitting utilityman has gotten plenty of looks on the Yankees since debuting back in 2022, but he regressed with the bat and the glove in 2025, and may just no longer be needed on this roster. Even if he is brought back, he’s nothing more than a bench bat, and the Yankees should be able to find a better option on either the free agent or trade front. Cousins has been a dominant reliever when healthy, but … he can’t stay healthy. The Yankees got 37 games out of him in 2024 and he posted a 2.37 ERA through 38 innings, but he didn’t pitch an inning in the big leagues in 2025. A June Tommy John surgery will keep him out for most of 2026, but he’s still controllable through 2028. He’s a non-tender candidate no matter what, but the Yankees wouldn’t be crazy to re-up with him on such a low arb estimate. The Yankees made a handful of deadline moves to shore up their bullpen this summer, but they didn’t all work out. Doval, acquired from the Giants in a trade, posted a 4.82 ERA across 22 games for the Yankees post-trade while struggling with walks and allowing more hits and home runs than he ever had previously in his career. The potential is still there, as he’s only 28 and controllable through 27, but he’s also going to become expensive this winter, so he’s not a lock to be brought back. Outside of a 13-game stint in 2022 in which he posted a 2.13 ERA for the Yankees, this club has not gotten much out of Effross to this point. Multiple injuries have thrown off his entire career, and while he’s still projected to earn well under $1 million in arbitration, nobody would blame the Yankees for throwing in the towel on a fragile pitcher who will turn 32 next month. Hamilton has made 110 appearances for the Yankees over the past three years, but he’s progressively gotten worse as time has gone on. This past year, he had a 4.28 ERA and 4.39 FIP through 36 outings and 40 innings. His strikeouts were down and the walks were way up, so the Yankees could easily opt for a more trustworthy and consistent arm to fill Hamilton’s role come 2026. Leiter is another multi-year Yankee that could go either way. He’ll be 35 come Opening Day and is coming off of two consecutive years of an ERA dangerously close to starting with a 5. Yes, he strikes batters out at impressive rates, but his 10.6 H/9 from 2025 is more than a little bit concerning. If the Yankees think he can build off of that 3.55 FIP from this past year, he could come back and remain an oft-used arm in their bullpen. If they find it too hard to ignore some of the more alarming surface-level stats, he’ll be sent packing instead of paid $3 million. Philadelphia Phillies 3B Alec Bohm ($10.3 million) C Rafael Marchán ($1 million) C Garrett Stubbs ($925K) For reasons unknown, Alec Bohm remains a member of the Phillies, but this could finally be the offseason that that changes. To be clear, Bohm is a perfectly average player, and is nowhere near the unplayable mess he’s made out to be by followers of his employer. The 29-year-old posted a .287 average with 11 home runs and 59 RBI, culminating in a 105 wRC+ in 2025. Nothing about this makes him a “bad” player, but he simply hasn’t taken the next step we all thought he’d have taken already at this point in his career. Now it’s just a matter of whether or not the Phillies feel like paying him over $10 million to simply be a “just okay” option. Aidan Miller isn’t ready to take the everyday third base reps, and there aren’t any other in-house options ready to jump in. Who knows what’ll happen here. Marchán and Stubbs are in similar boats here. Both are light-hitting backstops who have been with the Phillies for a while, they’re both obvious non-tender candidates, but are also not guarantees to be cut. With long-time backstop J.T. Realmuto hitting the open market, the Phillies are left without a catcher if both Marchán and Stubbs are cut. If they can either bring Realmuto back or swing a trade this winter, it’d make much more sense to send at least one of these guys packing. Stubbs is the ultimate vibes guy, but Marchán is younger and comes with more control. Take your pick which one stays and which one goes, but it’s unlikely that both of these catchers are on the Phillies’ payroll next year. Pittsburgh Pirates C Joey Bart ($2.7 million) RHP Colin Holderman ($1.7 million) RHP Yohan Ramírez ($1.2 million) OF Jack Suwinski ($1.7 million) Bart had sky-high expectations placed on his shoulders all throughout a multi-year tenure on the Giants that can only be described as a failure. In 2024, he had a .799 OPS with 13 home runs in 80 games for the Pirates and finally looked to be turning a corner. In 2025, he regressed all across the board and is now no longer guaranteed a job on this team. Pittsburgh has Henry Davis, Rafael Flores, and Endy Rodríguez all on the 40-man as catching options. Bart’s not a lock to be non-tendered, but this is a significant logjam that may be best resolved in cutting him. It wasn’t too long ago that Holderman looked like he could be a long-term fixture in this Pirates bullpen. He didn’t settle into a full-time role on the club until 2023, but he was as consistent as they come … until he wasn’t. In 2025, the right-hander posted a 7.01 ERA and 5.86 FIP through 24 games, striking out just 18 batters while walking 16 and surrendering 20 earned runs in just 25.2 innings. The wheels completely fell off, and the Pirates can’t afford to roster a 30-year-old reliever who’s no longer as trustworthy as he once was. Ramírez, 30, made his MLB debut in 2020 and has since played at least one game for eight different teams. He’s the ultimate journeyman, but the numbers he puts up on a yearly basis show why he can’t find a long-term home. He made 24 appearances for the 2025 Pirates, but his 5.40 ERA doesn’t instill much confidence. He did, however, post a 3.80 FIP and 12.2 K/9, which suggests that there may be some hope, but the Pirates may not be willing to try the gamble as they look to inch closer to contention in the near future. Suwinski is still only 27 and comes with multiple additional years of control. Even still, he’s got almost 400 games in the major leagues under his belt and he’s sporting a .199 career batting average and .694 OPS. He showed some promise in 2023 when he hit 26 home runs with 74 RBI, but any shred of consistency has completely disappeared. He may still have something left in the tank, but that hasn’t been all that apparent over the past few years. San Diego Padres C Luis Campusano ($1 million) LHP JP Sears ($3.5 million) Campusano, a former second-round pick of the Padres back in 2017, has been employed by this organization for years now and still can’t quite nail down a consistent role. His level of output in 2023 was impressive, but he’s failed to replicate that success at the big league level in each of the past two years. In fact, he was 0-for-21 this year in the majors. A $1 million salary isn’t awful, especially when he hit 25 home runs with 95 RBI in Triple-A this past year, but he’s also out of options. This could finally mark the end of his long tenure on the Padres. The Padres felt a bit of the Yankees’ pain at this year’s deadline in terms of buyer’s remorse. They acquired Sears alongside super-reliever Mason Miller from the A’s, but Sears made just five starts for them post-trade. The left-hander surrendered 16 runs (15 earned) in 24.2 innings, resulting in a 5.47 ERA and 6.18 FIP. The Padres, who were deep in the playoff hunt, couldn’t have this type of production out of their big league rotation. Sears will be 30 by the time Opening Day rolls around, but he still has a minor league option and is controllable through 2028. Flip a coin. San Francisco Giants RHP JT Brubaker ($2.1 million) C Andrew Knizner ($1.3 million) Brubaker, 32 in a few weeks, spent time on the Yankees and Giants in 2025, but was basically league-average at both stops. He made five appearances for the Giants, posting a 4.26 ERA after allowing six runs on 13 hits in 12.2 innings of work. There’s not much about his game that immediately suggests he deserves a salary north of $2 million next year, and he’s also no longer optionable to the minor leagues. He feels more likely to be non-tendered than brought back for another go-round at this stage of his career. Knizner, hasn’t provided much value on either side of the ball for years now, and is one of the most obvious non-tender candidates on this list. He’s closing in on 31 years of age and is coming off of a year in which he had a .598 OPS in 33 games for the Giants. With Patrick Bailey locked in behind the plate and Jesús Rodríguez nearly ready to back Bailey up at the big league level, Knizner doesn’t serve much of a purpose moving forward. Seattle Mariners RHP Jackson Kowar ($800K) 1B/OF Luke Raley ($1.8 million) RHP Gregory Santos ($800K) LHP Tayler Saucedo ($1.1 million) RHP Trent Thornton ($2.5 million) Kowar, 29, is a toss-up due to the fact that he’s still controllable through 2029, but he’s also out of minor league options and is far from an established name at the big league level. He made 15 relief appearances for the Mariners spanning 17 innings, but he was decidedly average on the mound. He likely didn’t do enough to lock himself into a job for next year. Raley’s got some thump in his bat, as evidenced by his 22 home runs in 137 games in 2024, but he hit a snag in 2025 and never quite came out of his slump. The 30-year-old wound up appearing in just 73 games, hitting four home runs with 19 RBI and a .631 OPS in the process. The Mariners, like multiple other teams on this list, are serious about contending in 2026. Since that’s the case, they can’t afford to have a big question-mark like Raley still on the roster, especially not at a multi-million dollar price tag. Since breaking into the big leagues in 2021, Santos only has one full season under his belt at the MLB level. In 2023 with the White Sox, he made 60 appearances, posting a 3.39 ERA and 2.65 FIP across 66.1 innings, even earning five saves along the way. Ever since, he’s ran into considerable durability issues and can’t stay healthy. He’s still only 26, under team control through 2028, and optionable, but has he really done enough to earn another contract? Saucedo, 32, has at times been a helpful southpaw in the Mariners’ bullpen, but he’s coming off of a down year that saw him put up a 7.43 ERA in 10 big league outings. To his credit, the 2.75 ERA he had in 22 Triple-A appearance is much nicer to look at, but he’s going to be 33 in June and is out of minor league options. At this point in his career, his best days may be in the rearview mirror, and he’s more of a high-minors depth pitcher than anything else. The Mariners love themselves a feel-good relief-pitching story, and Saucedo and Thornton have both provided some over the years. Thornton, a 32-year-old righty, had a career year in 2024 before taking a step back in 2025. Prior to sustaining a season-ending injury at the end of July, he had a 4.68 ERA through 33 outings, but his strikeout rate was down from the year before, and his walk/hit rates were up. He gave them some solid innings in the past, but may not be worth the roster spot any longer. St. Louis Cardinals RHP Jorge Alcala ($2.1 million) LHP John King ($2.1 million) The Cardinals have a large group of players up for arbitration, but only a few of them are true non-tender candidates. The likelier outcome here is that most of them are tendered contracts only to be flipped in a trade before Opening Day of 2026. The pair we settled on above are the ones who are most likely to outright be non-tendered instead of dangled in trades. Alcala spent time on three different teams in 2025, but he wasn’t particularly great with any of them and was downright awful on two of them. On the Cardinals specifically, he posted a 5.02 ERA through 15 innings, striking out 15 and walking seven. He’s an average hurler on a good day, and simply isn’t going to fit into this team’s plans moving forward. Easy pass. The only other option that’s not exactly tradeable would be King, a left-handed reliever that has taken the ball a ton of times for the Cardinals over the past two and a half years. The 31-year-old was heavily leaned upon in 2025, but the numbers just weren’t there. In 51 games, he posted a 4.66 ERA and 5.00 FIP (89 ERA+) while seeing a spike in home runs, hits, and walks, and a dip in strikeouts. At a $2 million+ price tag, he’s simply not worth the money and the Cardinals would be fine finding a new left-handed reliever to pair with JoJo Romero – who’s a trade chip himself. Tampa Bay Rays C Nick Fortes ($2.4 million) RHP Kevin Kelly ($1 million) UTIL Christopher Morel ($2.6 million) UTIL Richie Palacios ($1 million) SS Taylor Walls ($2 million) At one point this list was longer but the Rays have already been active in reshuffling their 40-man roster. The club already cut ties with Alex Faedo and Stuart Fairchild, both of whom were on the earliest rendition of this list. The Rays have needed a facelift behind the plate for what feels like two decades now, and Fortes didn’t really provide that after coming over in a midseason trade in 2025. He’s never done much with the bat and is widely regarded as a glove-first option back there. It sounds like the club is going to be on the hunt for help behind the plate this winter, so Fortes is certainly a candidate to be non-tendered if they find another player to slot back there, otherwise he could always serve as a backup in 2026. Either way, he’s a candidate to go. Kelly’s had a ton of mileage put on his arm over the past three years, but he didn’t really have a hard time with the workload until 2025. After two excellent years to open his career, this past one saw him stumble to the finish line with a 5.90 ERA and 5.66 FIP. Batters suddenly had no issues squaring him up, and his H/9 climbed nearly three full hits while his HR/9 jumped up nearly two full home runs. He’s not a lock to be sent packing, but if you struggle as a relief pitcher on the Rays, they’ll have no problem quickly replacing you with a former 15th-round draft pick that posts sub-2.00 ERAs. Still just 26 years of age, Morel is still positionless and seemed to lose all of the power he had in his bat prior to joining the Rays. After hitting 60 home runs in 323 games on the Cubs, he’s got 154 games on the Rays under his belt and he’s currently sitting at 14. The power’s gone, his strikeouts are still a major issue, and he can’t find a defensive home. The cash-conscious Rays can’t afford to give someone like Morel an endless leash, especially as he begins to get more expensive in arbitration. Palacios, 28, is a vibes guy who hasn’t hit well since joining the Rays organization in 2024. He’s quick on his feet, defensively versatile, and under team control through 2029, but where exactly does he fit on this roster? He hit .333 with an .848 OPS through 17 big league games this year, but he missed a ton of time with a broken finger and also had major struggles hitting in the minor leagues. He’s not exactly an expensive player, but again, where exactly does he fit? In Walls, the Rays have a speedy shortstop who’s an excellent defender, but also an atrocious hitter. At this point, it’s clear what the team has in him, and he’s starting to get a bit too expensive relative to where his actual value lies. The 29-year-old hit just .220 in 2025 with a .599 OPS and a total of 19 extra-base hits spread across 101 games. He’s had trouble staying on the field, he can’t hit, and essentially provides value only on defense. The Rays may finally cut the cord on this experiment this winter. Texas Rangers 1B Jake Burger ($3.5 million) UTIL Ezequiel Durán ($1.4 million) OF Adolis García ($12.1 million) UTIL Sam Haggerty ($1.4 million) C Jonah Heim ($6 million) There might not be a team in the league with more recognizable names on their non-tender list than the Rangers. It’s hard to call Burger’s first year on the Rangers anything other than a disappointment. He did hit 16 home runs and drive in 53, but any shred of plate discipline disappeared and he finished the year with a career-low .687 OPS. The Rangers intend to be a playoff contender next year, so are there really at-bats for a below-average run producer like Burger on the team? Color me skeptical. Then you’ve got Durán, who at one point looked like he was going to be the next great utilityman extraordinaire down in Texas. After an outstanding showing in 2023, he’s slowly seen his numbers dip further and further in the wrong direction, and now it’s unclear where he fits on this team. Durán hit .224 with no home runs and a .559 OPS in 90 games in 2025. He can bounce around the diamond a bit, but is likely no more than a glove-first bench bat once all is said and done. Due to his age and remaining control, he may not be a lock to get cut, but he’s a candidate. Now we shift our focus to García, who used to be one of the most popular players on this roster. After a pair of All-Star Game selections in 2021 and 2023, he’s started to go downhill and had a really rough year in 2025. García will be 33 in March and is projected to earn over $12 million in arbitration this winter. An OPS that’s dipped down to .665 and power numbers that have also dipped from year-to-year is not ultimately worth the price. It’s going to be strange seeing him in a new uniform, but the time has come for the team to move on. Haggerty, 31, is quick and versatile, but also isn’t much of a hitter. He’s more contact-oriented than anything else, and it feels like it’s either going to be him or Durán that’s non-tendered this winter. They both remain candidates, but my gut tells me that only one of them ultimately gets brought back. Haggerty’s had a few decent above-average seasons in the past but Durán is younger and has more upside. Again, flip a coin. Yet another former star who hasn’t been living up to the label, Heim may have caught his last inning behind the plate for the Rangers. He made the All-Star Game and won a Gold Glove in 2023 but has been a rough watch in each of the past two years. The switch-hitter has seen his offensive production fall off a cliff, and it feels like the Rangers may run with Kyle Higashioka and/or a free agent addition behind the dish next year instead of continuing to hold their breath on Heim. Toronto Blue Jays RHP Ryan Burr ($800K) RHP Dillon Tate ($1.7 million) Burr, 31, is a quirky dude who became a well-liked figure on the Blue Jays after being traded there from the Phillies for $1 in 2024. His 2025 at the big league level was limited to just two (scoreless) outings before a right shoulder injury ended his season prematurely. The right-hander doesn’t have any minor league options remaining, but the organization does like him. Look for a non-tender and a new minor league contract shortly after. Then there’s Tate, who’s been in the organization for over a year now but only has 10 MLB appearances to his name. He’s shown glimpses of promise at the game’s highest level in the past on the division rival Orioles, but Tate simply hasn’t done much for the Blue Jays. To his credit, he had a 2.06 ERA through 36 Triple-A games in 2025, so that doesn’t exactly mean nothing. Like Burr, Tate is a clear non-tender candidate (especially since he’s projected to earn close to $2 million), but he could very easily be brought back into the fold on a new deal of the minor league variety. Washington Nationals C Riley Adams ($1.5 million) INF Luis García Jr. ($7 million) Folks, we made it. Jorge Alfaro and Mason Thompson were initially also included on this list, but they have since been cut from the roster in favor of other options. Those non-tender cases resolved themselves. Now, we’re left with Adams and García. The former is a 29-year-old backstop who has been a scarcely-used backup catcher on the Nationals for the past four seasons. He’s never hit much at the big league level outside of random month-long spurts of production, but this year was the worst one yet. In 83 games, Adams did hit a career-high eight home runs but also struck out nearly 39% of the time and had an OPS of just .560. Teams can find a spot for light-hitting backup catcher types, but not when they’re this rough with the bat while simultaneously being rough on defense. Then there’s the latter, who is still somehow just 25 years old. García has shown glimpses of promise multiple times in what’s now been a six-year big league career, but he just can’t sustain it for very long. García had a 91 wRC+ this past year while once again struggling to find a long-term defensive home. He could be a cheap option to fill in at second or even first base on a team that needs a warm body in their lineup, but his $7 million projected salary through arbitration is simply not worth it.
