'Tender' time for MLB teams

NEXT WEEK, baseball's general managers will convene in the same room for the second time in a month, as the annual winter meetings get under way in San Diego. Before they go, the'll have to continue to get their 2015 rosters in order.

The Phillies - and the rest of baseball - have until midnight tonight to tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players. For the Phillies, it's no more than a standard, housekeeping procedure, as they're expected to do so with their trio of players: lefthander Antonio Bastardo and outfielders Ben Revere and Domonic Brown.

Whether all three report to Clearwater, Fla., is another question entirely. Since the Phillies' front office has acknowledged it's in rebuild mode, any and every player could be had in a trade between today and Opening Day.

Bastardo, 29, would seem to be an attractive candidate for contenders looking for bullpen help. Although the veteran lefthander has had bouts of inconsistency, he can pile up strikeouts, too.

Bastardo's 11.39 strikeouts-per-nine innings ranked ninth among National League relievers in 2014. Among all major league lefthanded relievers, that strikeout rate ranked eighth.

Bastardo, a free agent after the 2015 season, was 5-7 with a 3.94 ERA in 67 games in 2014. He struck out 81, walked 34 and yielded four home runs in 64 innings.

Bastardo avoided arbitration and agreed to a 1-year, $2 million contract last winter.

Revere, 26, was arbitration-eligible for the first time in his career last winter. He made $1.95 million in 2014, when he hit .306 with a .325 OBP and .686 OPS, while stealing 49 bases in 57 attempts.

Revere could see his single-season salary doubled through arbitration this winter.

Brown, 27, is one of the more interesting cases among arbitration-eligible players. He earned $550,000 last year, when he was coming off a 27-home run season and a first career All-Star appearance.

Eligible for arbitration for the first time, Brown is now coming off a dreadful season. He hit .235 with a .634 OPS; he hit just 10 home runs and had only 11 more extra-base hits than the power-challenged Revere.

According to Matt Swartz, a Philadelphia-area economist who projects salary-arbitration figures for mlbtraderumors.com, Brown could fetch $2.6 million through arbitration this winter.

Unless teams and players reach deals beforehand, the arbitration process will continue next month. Players have until Jan. 13 to file for arbitration and both sides exchange salary figures 3 days later.

If an agreement still hasn't been reached, arbitration hearings take place during the first 3 weeks of February.

Players who are non-tendered before midnight tonight become free agents. Typically players are only non-tendered if they are coming off serious injuries or are expected to command heavy pay raises.

Among the more intriguing names that could become free agents in the next 24 hours - and players who could interest the Phillies - are outfielders Alejandro De Aza (Orioles) and Dayan Viciedo (White Sox) and pitchers Jhoulys Chacin (Rockies), Kris Medlen (Braves) and Brandon Beachy (Braves).

Both Medlen and Beachy underwent second Tommy John surgeries last March.