The Phillies have avoided arbitration with Kevin Frandsen at $900K for next season. They also announced that contracts have been tendered to Kyle Kendrick, John Mayberry Jr., Ben Revere, and Antonio Bastardo.
Good for Frandsen and the Phillies that he'll be back in '14. The numbers aren't flashy and while it goes against what I often argue with players, it's good to have someone in the clubhouse with a bit of grit to them and Frandsen is certainly that and provides a good influence on the younger players (assuming we'll have some younger players on the 25 man).
It's been one of the more controversial crops of non-tender candidates lately particularly in the case of Mayberry where the consensus from most was it was probably time to move on from the outfielder and head in a different (at least a little more budget friendly) direction. Such was not the case and Mayberry will be back with the Phillies next season.
While the red flags shot up in the second half of last season, Kyle Kendrick was an easy call in my opinion for a variety of reasons. One, he has been consistent and while he did end the season on the DL, he has avoided it up until that point. Two, he's a very attractive trade candidate with a friendly contract to a club in need of a pitcher in a market that is a bit light on pitching right now.
Bastardo's PED suspension last season was all he had working against him and is still a nice relief option for the Phillies next season.
Back to Mayberry, it's been time to say goodbye to him for two seasons now. While in the short term, the Phillies did come out ahead when they swapped Greg Golsen for him it's looking the opposite way now because at least Texas knew when to send Golsen away where in Mayberry's case he's in line for a contract he doesn't deserve. I celebrate his occasional clutch hits as much as anyone but it does a great disservice to the team's financial situation to be giving Mayberry the kind of money he'll make in arbitration.
