Phillies Avoid Arbitration With New Contracts

usatsi_21708874

The Philadelphia Phillies faced a Thursday deadline to get deals done with their five remaining arbitration and the deals filtered in throughout the day.

First, it was pitcher Ranger Suárez, who agreed to a one-year contract worth $5.05 million in his second year of arbitration. The deal was first reported by The Athletic.

Suárez fell short of the $5.8 million deal that Spotrac projected for him earlier this offseason. He’s coming off a 2023 in which he went 4-6 with a 4.18 ERA in 22 starts. He dealt with two different trips to the injury list but helped propel the Phillies back to the National League Championship Series for the second straight season.

Next was pitcher Jeff Hoffman, who agreed to a $2.2 million deal in his final arbitration season, per The Athletic. Hoffman, like Suárez, fell short of the projected figure from Spotrac, as he was projected to get $3 million.

Hoffman went 5-2 with a 2.41 ERA in 54 relief appearances, carving out the best season of his career. He struck out 69 hitters in 52.1 innings. He will be a free agent after this season.

Edmundo Sosa agreed to a $1.7 million deal in his first year of arbitration, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. The infielder played in 104 games for the Phillies last season, as he batted .251/.293/.427/.720 with career highs in home runs (10) and RBI (30).

The Phillies had reached agreements with several arbitration players earlier this offseason, including outfielder Jake Cave ($1 million), pitcher Dylan Covey ($850,000) and catcher Garrett Stubbs ($850,000).

After the deadline, two players remained unsigned — infielder Alec Bohm and pitcher Gregory Soto. If the sides are unable to get a deal done, they are required to trade arbitration figures on Thursday evening and prepare for a hearing later this offseason in Arizona.