As it turns out, the Phillies, last evening, elected to decline arbitration offers to both Pat Burrell and Jamie Moyer. Unless of course, the arbitration papers got lost in the mail...
There are certainly arguments to be made against offering Burrell arbitration. There's a decent chance he would accept, in which case the Phillies would be on the hook for a one-year salary higher than Burrell is probably worth.
In my opinion, I would have offered him arbitration. Yes, he'd be overpaid, but by the same token, he is better than any other option for left field at this point -- there's no other right handed bat like his on the free agent market. Yes, Jayson Werth has made strides every year, but he's not the kind of right handed hitter that is going to balance the Phillies left-handed-heavy lineup. And don't forget the compensation draft picks that are now lost if Burrell decides to sign somewhere else.
In any event, the real shocker is that the Phillies did not offer arbitration to Jamie Moyer. They want him back, and they would prefer to do it on a one-year contract. In which case, the nature of arbitration seems like a no-brainer.
It's easy to see the reasoning in forgoing the arbitration offer for Burrell. Arguments can be made either way and it's a judgment call. But not Moyer? I'd love to have been a fly on the wall during that conversation between GM Ruben Amaro and special advisor Pat Gillick.
