Yesterday, December 2nd, marked one of the most consequential deadlines in MLB: the non-tender deadline. This year was equally important, if not more, as we saw a flurry of non-tender moves that wasn’t quite like any year we’ve seen before. As such, we’re doing a series of articles to cover every move made by each team leading up to the non-tender deadline. In this article, Diego Franco-Carreno and Ryan Ruhde cover the NL West.
For those who are new to this process, here is a short explanation of the significance of the non-tender deadline. Players who have not yet exceeded six years of Major League service time (time spent on a Major League roster) remain under team control with the team for whom they played in 2020. In a player’s first three years of service time, he is owed the league minimum salary by his team. In the three years after that, he is eligible for arbitration, meaning that he and his team must either agree to a salary for the next season or, if they cannot come to an agreement, each submit their desired salary figure to an arbitrator who settles the player’s contract for the upcoming season. Regardless of whether a player is in his arbitration or pre-arbitration years, his team must first decide to tender him a contract for the coming season. If a player’s team does not tender him a contract, he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The deadline to tender contracts for this process was yesterday. The majority of players here who were tendered do not yet have a salary decided for 2021, but those who have a salary figure have already signed a contract. The players listed as non-tenders are now unrestricted free agents.
Here is a look at the NL West tender and non-tenders for each team. The Dodgers are the only team that acquired a significant player, getting Corey Knebel from the Brewers for a PTBNL and cash considerations. There were several notable non-tenders out of the west; here’s the full rundown.
San Francisco Giants
Non Tendered:
Notable Tenders:
- Alex Dickerson
- Jarlin Garcia
- Wandy Peralta
- Austin Slater
- Trevor Gott
- Donovan Solano
- Reyes Moronta
- Darin Ruf
Discussion
The Giants primarily maintained their roster, choosing to non-tender only RP Tyler Anderson and IF Daniel Robertson. Otherwise, they’ve tendered a contract to all players on their 40 man roster as well as agreeing to salary figures for many of them, leaving little to be decided financially. The team now will look ahead to free agency with a clear picture of their financial situation for 2021.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Acquired Via Trade:
- Corey Knebel
Non-Tenders:
- None
Notable Tenders:
Discussion
Not only did the reigning World Series champions not non-tender any players at the deadline, but they added to their team with the acquisition of Knebel from the Brewers. None of these tender decisions came as surprises, but much of the Dodgers payroll for 2021 will now be determined by salary arbitration, which may get pricey with the talented players that they’ve now tendered contracts.
Colorado Rockies
Non-Tenders:
Notable Tenders/Signings:
Discussion
David Dahl is perhaps the most notable non-tender in MLB, as the very talented and formerly very consistent outfielder is now an unrestricted free agent after a 2020 season he’d rather forget. Gonzalez and Wolters both struggled to find consistent success as Rockies and will now have to attempt to do so elsewhere, if at all. Apparently, the Rockies like Diazes, as they’ve agreed to contracts with both who were eligible.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Non-Tenders:
- None
Notable Tenders:
Discussion
The Diamondbacks had little to do at the non-tender deadline, so little they did. Kelly, Weaver, and Smith were all fairly obvious tenders, and Arizona made no other roster moves around the deadline.
San Diego Padres
Non-Tenders:
Notable Tenders:
Discussion
The Padres non-tendered only Garcia after an underwhelming 2020 season in which he was hardly needed on a team with a lot of position player depth. Otherwise the Padres will retain much of their roster, with important arbitration decisions to come from Pham, Davies and Lamet.
