Three MLB teams that may regret their non-tender decisions

Friday was the deadline for Major League Baseball teams to tender 2026 contracts to their arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration players. Some teams made bold moves that may come back to haunt them.

Many decisions on Friday revolved around salaries for the 2026 season and potential performance that would warrant those salaries being paid. With that in mind, it's certainly a gamble to let a player go with the potential that he may rebound from poor past performance and blossom into a weapon with another team.

So which teams took a gamble that could backfire on them down the road? Here are three that stood out.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers did what many predicted on Friday, cutting ties with outfielder Adolis Garcia. The MVP of the 2023 American League Championship Series, the 32-year-old Garcia has struggled mightily since helping Texas win the World Series, posting a 98 and 93 OPS+ the last two seasons, respectively. That comes after three consecutive seasons with an OPS+ of 100 or better.

Garcia's power has also dropped after hitting 39 homers in 2023, slipping to 25 in 2024 and 19 last season. That lack of power and production made it tough for Texas to believe a projected $12.1 million salary (per MLBTradeRumors.com) was worth it.

On the surface, Garcia seems like a perfect change-of-scenery candidate, and it's likely another team will take a chance on unlocking that power again in 2026. If that happens, Rangers fans will have a hard time seeing it come in another uniform.

San Francisco Giants

Joey Lucchesi was projected to make $2 million next season, a seemingly good price tag for a left-handed reliever who posted a 3.76 ERA and 3.97 FIP along with a 54% groundball rate last season in 38.1 innings over 38 games. The 32-year-old also held left-handed batters to a .219 average and .598 OPS.

Last season's 38 games at the MLB level were also more than Lucchesi had thrown in the previous five years combined, partially because of Tommy John surgery and recovery. Without any minor league options left, other MLB teams will have to decide if he can put together that kind of workload or more in 2026.

Left-handed relievers who are effective can be powerful weapons out of the bullpen for any team, so expect Lucchesi to land somewhere soon.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On one hand, non-tendering reliever Evan Phillips made sense as he underwent Tommy John surgery in June and was projected to make $6.1 million next season before becoming a free agent in 2027, the first season where he could potentially make a big impact after surgery.

On the other hand, it's clear the Dodgers want to keep Phillips around despite the injury and upcoming inactivity, with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman detailing how the franchise tried to keep the 31-year-old right-hander around.