Inside The Phillies

Phillies Face Significant Work to Avoid Salary Arbitration Hearings in 2026

The Philadelphia Phillies have several players they need to get deals done with before Thursday to avoid salary arbitration.
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The Philadelphia Phillies face their next benchmark this offseason as the salary arbitration deadline approaches.

By Thursday the Phillies must have deals with their remaining arbitration eligible players. If they can’t then the two sides will exchange numbers and head to an arbitration hearing in February to determine the salary.

The Phillies don’t usually end up heading to hearings. But, last year, they went to a hearing with a current slugger and lost. Philadelphia hopes to avoid that possibility this time around.

Where Phillies Stand in Salary Arbitration

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm reacts by putting his hands on his batting helmet after a hit
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In October, MLB Trade Rumors posted its annual salary arbitration estimates and had nine Phillies on the list — Jesus Luzardo, Edmundo Sosa, Alec Bohm, Garrett Stubbs, Brandon Marsh, Jhoan Duran, Bryson Stott, Tanner Banks and Rafael Marchan. Philadelphia could have non-tendered any of them and avoided arbitration. But that would have meant releasing the player and allowing them to hit free agency.

Since then, the Phillies added one other arbitration eligible player in pitcher Zach pop, who signed a one-year, $900,000 split contract per Fangraphs’ Roster Resource. In addition, the Phillies have signed two players to contracts already — Stubbs and Marchan. Both will be paid less than $1 million.

That leaves the rest for the Phillies, led by Luzardo and Bohm, both of which are in their final year of arbitration and projected to make more than $10 million.

Luzardo joined the Phillies last year and went 15-7 with a 3.92 ERA in 32 starts, with a career-high 216 strikeouts and career-low 58 walks in 183.2 innings. After 2026, he becomes a free agent and would be a solid get for any team. Bohm won his arbitration hearing with the Phillies last year. He’s coming off a 2025 in which he slashed .287/.331/.409 with 11 home runs and 59 RBI.

Philadelphia has one other player in his final year of arbitration — Sosa. The valuable utility player is projected to make $3.9 million in a deal to avoid a hearing.

The Phillies dealt for Duran, in part, because he still had years of team control. With four years of service time the closer is projected to make $7.6 million. He’s one of two other players with four years of service time, including Marsh ($4.5 million) and Stott ($5.8 million).

Banks is the only remaining arbitration player with between three and four years of service time. He is projected to make $1.2 million. First-year arbitration players are unlikely to go to a hearing.

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Matthew Postins
MATT POSTINS

Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.

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