The MLB offseason hit a major landmark last week, with the deadline for teams to tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players. As usual, several dozen players around the league were non-tendered and are now free agents.
This annual non-tender market often brings the chance to find hidden gems. In some cases, the problem isn’t that the player isn’t good, just that his team wasn’t willing to pay the salary raise he was entitled to under the arbitration system. But at open market prices, there’s the opportunity to find bargains.
That makes this an especially appealing avenue for a team like the Oakland A’s, who have several roster holes to fill but are always on a tight budget.