Phillies go 7-for-7 to Avoid Arbitration

Back on November 21, the Philadelphia Phillies tendered contracts to all seven of their arbitration-eligible players. These players avoided the risk of joining Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, and Ranger Suárez as free agents, but still weren’t in the clear. Instead, this group discussed salaries with the club which had to be settled before 8:00pm ET on January 9, or else they’d go to a panel of arbitrators deciding their value by either choosing the players’ side or the organization’s side.

Luckily, each arbitration-eligible Phillie agreed on a one-year deal for the 2026 season.

Jesús Luzardo

Luzardo was the first Phillie to reach a deal avoiding arbitration. The price tag was finalized upon a $11 million settlement after Luzardo pitched a career year in 2025. His projected value was listed at $10.4 million, per Matt Swartz of MLB Trade Rumors, but he rightfully deserved that money bump. Luzardo achieved personal bests, tossing 183.2 innings, 216 strikeouts, and finishing with 15 wins. He stayed healthy and stepped on the mound 34 times including the playoffs, another career high. Those accomplishments on top of a 3.92 ERA placed him seventh in National League Cy Young voting.

The Phillies are expected to lose Suárez to either the New York Mets or Baltimore Orioles so solidifying another southpaw in their rotation behind Cristopher Sánchez was vital. Luzardo will be a free agent after the 2026 season and should get an even bigger raise when the time comes.

Tanner Banks

The safe haven of the Phillies’ bullpen in Banks avoided arbitration by reaching an agreement on a $1.2 million deal. Banks’ number was called upon to get out of repetitive jams last season in relief. He inherited 32 runners and let just 12 of them score. Banks maintained a 3.24 ERA in 91.2 innings since Philadelphia acquired him at the 2024 trade deadline.

Banks will be one of the two Phillies’ late-inning southpaws in 2026 alongside José Alvarado being used out of the bullpen. With Matt Strahm’s departure to Kansas City, Banks will fulfill a higher-leverage role.

Bryson Stott

Stott returns to the Phillies after agreeing to a $5.9 million deal. Stott’s defense alone is worth that value as he continues to progress in the infield. He displayed a fielding percentage of .994 in 1,093 innings at second base on top of turning 59 double plays. Stott’s three errors on the right side of the diamond were third fewest behind Ozzie Albies and Marcus Semien.

Stott’s offense flatlined again with few signs of improvement. He didn’t take that next step forward at the plate batting .206 from May to July. Stott then turned around his season batting .310 in the second half of the year only to go 2-for-13 during the postseason.

Alec Bohm

In the midst of the reports stating Bo Bichette is coming to Philadelphia, Bohm agreed to a $10.2 million deal for the 2026 season with the Phillies. Injuries to Bohm’s ribs and shoulder sidelined him to 120 games last season. He still produced batting .287 with 11 taters and 59 RBIs.

Bohm continues to establish himself as a dependable third baseman. He boosted his fielding percentage from .960 to .981 and drastically cut down his fielding errors from 14 to 5.

Jhoan Duran

It’s so satisfying typing that the Phillies have a closer for the 2026 season, and it’s a good one too. Duran will come out for the final three outs to his ‘Durantula’ entrance after settling on a $7.5 million deal with Philadelphia.

Acquired from the Minnesota Twins during last year’s trade deadline, Duran has already proved he’s one of the league’s top closers in baseball. Duran had a 2.18 ERA, .092 WHIP, and slammed the door shut on 16 occasions with the Phillies. The $7.5 million contract looks even better knowing Edwin Díaz signed to a $23 million AAV, Devin Williams inked a $17 million AAV, and Robert Suarez agreed to a $15 million AAV in the offseason. Duran is arguably better than them all.

Edmundo Sosa

They love him.

It speaks to the type of person Sosa is to remain with the Phillies as a bench piece. He can easily be a starting player for half of the teams in the MLB, but a $4.4 million deal brought him back to Philadelphia. Sosa improved his statistics in nearly every category from the prior season. He launched 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 89 games while being a reliable platoon for Stott with a .895 OPS against left-handed pitching.

Sosa began the 2025 season batting .555 and looks to get ready for the 2026 campaign representing Team Panama at the World Baseball Classic.

Brandon Marsh

If there’s one player under the microscope with the upcoming season approaching, it’s Marsh. Following the signing of Adolis García and expectations of Justin Crawford making the Opening Day roster, Marsh’s playing time will be reduced as he’ll be part of a platoon similar to last year. He batted .197 with a .577 OPS against lefties while Otto Kemp featured a .786 OPS facing southpaws.

The 28-year-old was another Phillies player displaying a sporadic 2025 season. Marsh’s abysmal .095 average including a 0-for-29 skid to begin the year was revoked when he maintained a .303 average from May 3 onwards. Then autumn arrived and the same Marsh from March to April reappeared going 1-for-13 while he stranded 11 runners on base in the postseason.

The Phillies are taking a chance on Marsh finalizing a one-year, $5.2 million deal to avoid arbitration.

Philadelphia previously avoided arbitration with their current catching duo of Rafael Marchán ($860,000) and Garrett Stubbs ($975,000 if he plays in the majors and $575,000 if he’s in the minors) back in November.

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