The folks at MLBTradeRumors.com have secured the Elias Sports Bureau rankings of free-agent players for this winter.
The Phils have five notable free agents on the list.
Ryan Madson, Roy Oswalt and Jimmy Rollins are all Type A free agents.
Raul Ibanez and Brad Lidge are both Type B free agents.
The rankings, basedona player's statistics over the previous two seasons,are used to determine draft-pick compensation for clubs losing free agents.
A team losing a Type A free agent would get two draft picks, the first- or second-round pick of the signing team plus an additional pick between the first and second round.
A team losing a Type B player would get a pick between the first and second round.
MLB
To ensure receiving draft-pick compensation, a club must offer its own free agents salary arbitration by Nov. 23.
We got a look at how draft-pick compensation worked last winter:
The Phillies signed Cliff Lee, a Type A free agent. Therefore, they surrendered a draft pick to Texas. Because the Phils were in the upper half of the major league standings, they surrendered their first-round pick. Because Lee was a Type A, the Rangers were awarded a second compensatory pick, from Major League Baseball, between the first and second round.
The Phillies lost a Type A player in Jayson Werth last winter. They offered him arbitration and received two picks for him. Werth signed with Washington, a bottom-half team, so the Phils received the Nats second-round pick. Because Werth was a Type A, the Phils also received a pick, from MLB, between the first and second rounds. That pick became outfielder Larry Greene at No. 39 overall. Shortstop Roman Quinn (No. 66 overall) was selected with what would have been the Nationals second-round pick.
Madson and Rollins are high-profile free agents who will be seeking multi-year deals with the Phillies or other clubs. You can bank on the Phillies' offering both of them salary arbitration for 2012. The other three are tougher calls. Players who accept arbitration by Dec. 7 are considered signed for the coming season. However, there is risk associated with accepting arbitration as those contracts are not guaranteed. Oswalt and Lidge actually became free agents when the Phillies declined their contract options for 2012. The Phils can still offer them arbitration and must do so if they want to receive compensation.
Free agents are currently allowed to negotiate with only their former clubs. They can begin signing with other clubs on Thursday.
Here is the complete list of Type A and Type B free agents, according to MLBTradeRumors.com.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com.