The Phillies have offered salary arbitration to free agents Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Madson and Raul Ibanez.
By doing so, the Phils will collect draft-pick compensation if these players sign elsewhere.
The Phils are in line to get two high-round picks for both Rollins and Madson. The difference in the two players: Rollins has been categorized as an elite free agent so the team that signs him will forfeit either its first- or second-round draft pick, depending on its draft position. (A team that selects in the top half of the draft forfeits its second-round pick. A team in the bottom half of the draft will lose its first-rounder.) The second compensatory pick will come in a sandwich round between the first and second round.
For Madson, the Phils will still get two picks if he signs elsewhere. However, neither of those picks will be forfeited by the signing team. The picks will be supplementary, either in the first or second rounds, depending on the teams draft position. The second compensatory pick would come in a sandwich round between the first and second rounds.
Ibanez is a lower classification free agent. For him, the Phils would get a pick between the first and second rounds.
Players have untilDec. 7 to accept or reject arbitration. If they accept, they immediately become a signed player for 2012, salary to be determined.
While the Phils certainly would be interested in having Rollins or Madson back on a one-year deal, their desire to retain Ibanez, who made 12 million in 2011, is uncertain. It is possible that the team has already ascertained that he will reject arbitration as he looks to sign elsewhere or return to Philadelphia at a lower salary later in the winter.
MLB
Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge were not offered arbitration. It appears as if Oswalt will move on. It is possible that Lidge could return on a one-year deal.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com