Friday marks an important day on baseball’s offseason calendar. It is the annual non-tender deadline, when teams must decide whether or not tender (choose to offer) contracts to arbitration-eligible players on their 40-man rosters. Each and every year, teams across baseball choose to non-tender some notable players for various reasons. Those players immediately join the pool of free agents. A particularly notable instance took place last year when the Dodgers non-tendered Cody Bellinger, who went on to have a great year with the Cubs after hitting free agency a year earlier than expected.
The Red Sox, who non-tendered Franchy Cordero and Yu Chang (before re-signing him) at last year’s non-tender deadline, have decisions to make before 8 p.m. ET on Friday night. They have five arbitration-eligible players and a decision or two to make. Here’s a preview:
Urías decision looms
The most obvious potential non-tender candidate on the roster is second baseman Luis Urías, who underwhelmed in Boston after coming over in a minor deadline trade with Milwaukee.
Ex-chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom tried to buy low on Urías, who was just two years removed from a very good year with Milwaukee, and wanted to give him a chance to claim the second base job on a long-term basis by giving him significant playing time down the stretch. Urías started 24 games at second base and four more at third base before a calf strain ended his season a couple weeks early. Outside of grand slams in back-to-back at-bats during an August road trip, Urías did little at the plate. He finished with a .225 average, .337 slugging percentage and .698 OPS in 109 plate appearances with the Red Sox while being OK defensively.
The Red Sox think there’s still upside with the 26-year-old Urías but price is a clear issue. According to MLBTradeRumors’ arbitration projections, he’s set to make about $4.7 million in 2024. That might be too steep for the Red Sox considering what Urías gave them after the trade.
Boston has four internal second base candidates on the 40-man roster (Urías, Enmanuel Valdez, Pablo Reyes and David Hamilton) but appears likely to add an extrenal option via free agency or trade. The guess here is that Urías is either non-tendered or the Red Sox try to sign him to a preemptive deal to avoid arbitration at a lower cost before the Friday deadline.
McGuire a dark horse non-tender candidate?
Catcher Reese McGuire is another name to watch before the non-tender deadline, though McGuire has a better chance of sticking on the roster than Urías. The 28-year-old catcher is projected to make $1.6 million in arbitration next season and there’s a chance the Red Sox think that’s too steep for what he can provide. After an extremely strong first two months in Boston following a deadline trade in 2022 (McGuire hit .337 with an .877 OPS in 36 games), he regressed to the mean in 2023, hitting just .267 with a .668 OPS and struggling to throw out runners (17%). It was expected McGuire and Wong would share the catching job all season but Wong emerged as the clear No. 1 option and started 105 games to McGuire’s 51. (McGuire did miss a month in the middle of the season with an oblique strain.)
McGuire is a perfectly capable backup catcher who now has a year and a half of experience working with Boston’s pitcher. Still, there’s a chance the Sox could look to make an upgrade behind Wong by adding a free agent. There are plenty of free agent options available.
It’s more likely than not that McGuire is tendered but not a guarantee. He could also try to work out a deal with a lower guarantee before Friday.
BET ANYTHINGGET $250 BONUSESPN BET
21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
Three contributors safe, will be tendered
The other three arbitration-eligible players on the roster will be tendered contracts with their 2024 salaries to be determined at a later date. Outfielder Alex Verdugo (projected to make $9.2 million) and pitchers Nick Pivetta ($6.9 million) and John Schreiber ($1.3 million) will all be tendered.
That doesn’t mean they’re all guaranteed to be on the roster come Opening Day with new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow likely to make some significant trades this winter. Verdugo in particular is a trade candidate with a year to go before free agency.
Pre-arb players could be at risk, too
Some teams also use the non-tender deadline to cut some inexpensive, inexperienced players loose and clear up spots on their 40-man rosters. The Red Sox effectively made one of those moves a couple days early by placing right-hander Logan Gillaspie on waivers (he was claimed by the Padres).
Anyone with less than three years of service time who Breslow doesn’t view as a major league contributor could be at risk. Righty Wyatt Mills, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, is one candidate to be cut loose after not pitching in 2023. Journeyman reliever Zack Weiss is another. The Red Sox have two open spots on their 40-man roster already.
