As expected, the Phillies have decided not to offer contracts to third baseman Mikael Franco and second baseman Cesar Hernandez. The two were expected to earn a combined $17.5 million in arbitration.
Losing Franco is a no-brainer. He’s underperformed and was even shipped to the minors last season. Hernandez is a nice player who led the Phils in hits last season, but he makes too many mental errors in the field and on the bases. The only remarkable thing I can remember about Hernandez was that time he hit a Little League home run.
That $17.5 million will come in handy, with the Phils rumored to be interested in free agent third baseman Mike Moustakas and shortstop Didi Gregorious. I like the idea of Moustakas, but is Gregorious really that much of an upgrade over Hernandez?
The Phils need pitching and need to spend the money wisely. I’m not sure investing in Didi Gregorious is a sound financial and baseball move.
And speaking of baseball moves, the Phillies avoided arbitration with backup catcher Andrew Knapp, signing him to a 1-year, $710,000 contract.
They also claimed reliever Trevor Kelley from the Red Sox. Kelley had an 8.64 ERA last year in 10 games. So he’ll fit right in.
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