The three biggest names to not receive new contracts and become free agents (non-tender) are Pedro Alvarez, Chris Carter, and Ike Davis, all first basemen. The story about Alvarez, a former All-Star, indicates he never learned to play first base well, but he also became a platoon player. Davis got on base decently but never developed power. Carter is a walks and home runs guy, but saw his extremely low batting average dip below .200 this year.
In each case, the teams decided the player was not worth the arbitration raise. I also suspect since those three teams do a good job at number crunching, they realized that talent gets concentrated at first base, since it’s the least demanding defensive position. They can either sign the players back as free agents for less, or bring up someone making near the league minimum that’s likely to play as well.
I suspect all three will get jobs. Each has useful skills, and for the right price will complement a good roster.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1XJxygV
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