MLB teams have the opportunity to non-tender some of their players if they feel the projected salary for that player is too much of a risk or if they need to make room on their 40-man roster. The deadline to do that was last night and the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros and Miami Marlins made some surprising decisions.
When a player is non-tendered, he becomes a free agent as his incumbent club is declining to offer a contract for the following season.
The Pirates, in an effort to avoid paying another big salary for the 2016 season, elected not to tender a contract to first baseman Pedro Alvarez. The 28-year-old was set to earn $8.1 million next season in his final year of arbitration eligibility.
INF Pedro Alvarez & OF Jaff Decker have not been tendered contracts for the 2016 season. #Pirates
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) December 3, 2015
Alvarez has been among the better power hitters in the MLB over the past four seasons. He's hit 111 home runs and batted in 318 runs over that span, but his batting average was below .240 and his defense was arguably the worst in the MLB at his position. General manager Neal Huntington told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the trade market for Alvarez was "surprisingly quiet," and since they couldn't get rid of him in that fashion they opted to non-tender him.
In Houston, the Astros did the same with a power hitter of their own. First baseman Chris Carter was also non-tendered after hitting at least 24 home runs in each of the past three seasons. He was entering his first year of arbitration eligibility.
Also, the club tendered contracts to all but one of their unsigned 40-man roster players, as IF Chris Carter was not tendered a contract.
— Houston Astros (@astros) December 3, 2015
Carter was also the subject of trade rumors, but the Astros clearly couldn't find a suitor. Although the 28-year-old hit 90 home runs and 234 RBI over the past three seasons, he batted just .218 and struck out a total of 545 times in 422 games.
However, the most surprising move comes in Miami. The Marlins decided to non-tender their 2015 Opening Day starter, Henderson Alvarez, on Wednesday. The right-hander underwent shoulder surgery after just making four starts in 2015 and wasn't expected to be ready for the start of 2016.
RHPs Henderson Alvarez and Aaron Crow have not been tendered contracts for 2016. 40-man roster now at 37.
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) December 3, 2015
Alvarez, 25, owns a 3.80 ERA in 92 career starts with the Marlins, including his All-Star campaign in 2014 when he finished 12-7 with a 2.65 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 111 strikeouts in 30 starts (187 innings).
But not to worry, all of these players should garner a good amount of interest in free agency, as many MLB clubs are looking for power hitting and young, controllable starters.
