Phillies, Zach Eflin avoid arbitration with $5.7M contract

The contract also contains a mutual option for 2023 valued at $15M, per Nightengale. Eflin is a client of O’Connell Sports Management.

Agreeing to terms avoids the necessity of a hearing for Eflin, who was eligible for arbitration for a final time. His camp had filed for a $6.9M salary, while the team was seeking a $5.15M figure. Eflin’s guarantee comes in a bit shy of the $6.025M midpoint, but he could more or less reach that mark were he to trigger all of the performance bonuses.

Arbitration salaries are typically determined over the offseason. This past offseason’s lockout froze league business for 99 days, however, pushing some hearings into the regular season. That’s not a desirable setup for anyone. Philadelphia’s arbitration class is now wrapped up.

Eflin, 28, is set to hit free agency for the first time next season. He will be one of the younger arms available, and he’s settled in as a reliably effective mid-rotation arm. Eflin posted an ERA between 3.97 and 4.36 each season from 2018-21.

The only real concern would seem to be Eflin's health history, as he’s dealt with chronic issues in both knees throughout his career. A 2016 surgery on both joints alleviated the problems for a while, but Eflin dealt with renewed patellar troubles in his right knee late last season. That culminated in another procedure last September.

Eflin has stayed healthy thus far in 2022. He’s off to a typically solid start, posting a 3.65 ERA through 37 innings. The right-hander has a roughly league average 23% strikeout rate, while his 4.6% walk rate is among the league’s best. He has joined Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Kyle Gibson and Ranger Suárez to comprise one of baseball’s top starting staffs.

The inclusion of the mutual option theoretically raises the possibility of Eflin avoiding the open market altogether. Those are rarely exercised by both parties. Rather, they are typically an accounting measure designed to push the payment of some salary back a few months. If Eflin stays healthy and productive all season, he’s likely to decline his end of the option in search of a multi-year deal on the open market.