As we enter the month of December, the MLB non-tender deadline is now in the rearview mirror. Due to this, many intriguing players are now free agents and could pop up in Yankees rumors.
Outside of “Super Two” candidates, MLB players are required to compile three years of service time before they are eligible for salary arbitration. Service time can be compiled by spending time on either the 25-man roster or the major league disabled list.
The salary arbitration process continues until a player has compiled six years of service time, or until a player is non-tendered by his current club. Following six years of service time (or becoming non-tendered), a player is able to reach free agency.
Although it may not make sense for a team to not offer a contract to a player with one or more years of team control remaining, it may benefit a team for salary purposes or roster flexibility. An example of a notable non-tendered player came when the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to let Russell Martin reach free agency despite having two additional years of team control remaining.
After reaching the National League All-Star team in both 2007 and 2008 for the Dodgers, Martin put together a lackluster 12 home runs in 2009 and 2010 combined. As he received a $5.05 million salary in 2010 through arbitration, he would have likely received at least a $6.00 million salary through arbitration in 2011.
Due to the salary commitment alongside the decline in Martin’s play, the Dodgers chose to maintain payroll flexibility by moving on from their former up-and-coming catching option The New York Yankees benefited greatly from the Dodgers decision after they signed Martin to a one year, $4.00 million contract ahead of the 2011 season.
Martin had not yet reached six years of MLB service time following the conclusion of his one-year pact with the Yankees, so the team had the option to retain him for a second season through salary arbitration. As Martin rebounded in 2011 by earning an American League All-Star appearance (and compiling 18 home runs), the Yankees decided to tender him a contract for the following season.
Martin earned $7.50 million in 2012 before going on to earn an additional $97.0 million in free agency (including his salary in the upcoming 2019 regular season). This is a rare case of a non-tendered player reaching this level of success, but there are always intriguing players available following the non-tender deadline.
The following are five recently non-tendered players the Yankees could target in free agency, so you could end up hearing their names in Yankees rumors soon.