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Which Phillies are headed for free agency as pivotal offseason looms?
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- Which Phillies are headed for free agency as pivotal offseason looms?
Which Phillies are headed for free agency as pivotal offseason looms? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
On Friday, after the Phillies fell in the National League Wild Card Series, Bryce Harper said he expects the team to look "a lot different" next year.
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He later clarified that he was referring, at least in part, to the number of players who can reach free agency this offseason.
And there are plenty.
Seven players from the Phillies' 2026 roster are set to become free agents: Alec Bohm, Luis Arraez, Adolis García, Edmundo Sosa, José Alvarado, Brooks Raley and Tim Mayza. Three of them — Bohm, Sosa and Alvarado — have been around since at least the Phillies' 2022 run to the National League pennant.
How aggressively Philadelphia approaches replacing or retaining them comes with another layer of uncertainty. The league is heading toward an unsettled offseason with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire after the 2026 season, creating questions about how teams will operate financially.
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The Phillies do have significant salary coming off the books. Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker, both released before reaching the final seasons of their contracts, account for $38 million alone. If none of the seven impending free agents return, roughly $78 million in 2026 cash salary would no longer be committed.
A good portion of that relief is already spoken for.
Kyle Schwarber, Jesús Luzardo, Brad Keller and Cristopher Sánchez are all due raises in 2027, combining for roughly $38 million in additional salary. Jhoan Duran, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh are also arbitration-eligible again as they enter their final seasons of team control.
So there will be flexibility, but perhaps not as much as the raw number initially suggests.
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Here's a look at each of the Phillies' seven impending free agents:
Alec Bohm, 3B/1B, age 30
2026 stats: 155 G, .249/.315/.383, 15 HR, 88 RBI, .698 OPS
2026 salary: $10.2 million
Bohm represents the most significant homegrown decision of the group. The Phillies' first-round pick in 2018 remains a premium run producer at a time when productive right-handed hitters are increasingly difficult to find. He is one of only seven right-handed hitters to drive in at least 85 runs in three of the last four seasons.
His final numbers also don't completely reflect the hitter he was for most of 2026. After a difficult offseason off the field and a rough opening month, Don Mattingly gave Bohm two days out of the lineup to reset. From May 9 through the end of the season, Bohm hit .274 with 14 homers, 73 RBI, 41 extra-base hits and a .773 OPS over 120 games while batting .347 with runners in scoring position. Prorated over 162 games, that's a 19-homer, 99-RBI pace.
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And he had quite the Wild Card Series, hitting the would-be game-winning homer in Game 2.
The complication continues to be where he plays. Bohm moved from third to first after the Arraez trade, but finished with minus-11 Outs Above Average and ranked in the first percentile among MLB fielders. His right-handed bat has value, but he reaches free agency without one obvious long-term defensive home.
Luis Arraez, 2B, age 29
Phillies stats: 46 G, .278/.309/.369, 2 HR, 21 RBI, .678 OPS
2026 salary: $12 million
Approx. salary with Phillies: $3.5 million
The Phillies acquired Arraez and right-hander Caleb Kilian from San Francisco at the deadline for pitching prospects Marty Gair and Ramon Marquez. The three-time batting champion arrived hitting a league-leading .324, but his production dipped considerably after joining Philadelphia.
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His influence went beyond his batting average. Arraez gave the Phillies a hitter who rarely swung and missed, while his arrival triggered several positional changes: Bryson Stott moved to third, Bohm shifted to first and Bryce Harper returned to right field. The defensive alignment improved, with Stott in particular showing how much value his glove could provide at third.
Arraez's absence late in the year also showed why the Phillies wanted his skill set in the first place. He sprained his left ankle on the final Thursday of the regular season and never played again, missing the Wild Card Series while Philadelphia again struggled with chase and consistent contact.
Adolis García, RF, age 33
2026 stats: 67 G, .195/.270/.329, 7 HR, 21 RBI, .599 OPS
2026 salary: $10 million
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The Phillies took a one-year flier on García hoping a change of scenery could help revive some of the power that once made him one of the American League's more dangerous hitters. It never came together consistently. García continued to swing and miss at a high rate, striking out 84 times in 259 plate appearances while hitting below .200.
What he did provide was some of the best right-field defense Philadelphia has seen since Harper moved to first base. García's arm remained a weapon, he covered ground and brought stability to a position that had been a defensive weakness for years.
He also quickly became a respected presence inside the clubhouse. His season ended in June after he tore his right latissimus dorsi while making a throw home, requiring surgery and cutting short any chance for the Phillies to see whether his bat could come around over a full season.
Edmundo Sosa, INF/OF, age 30
2026 stats: 84 G, .242/.280/.410, 8 HR, 43 RBI, .690 OPS
2026 salary: $4.4 million
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Sosa's season-long numbers were a little deceiving considering how strongly he finished. Over his final 50 games, he slashed .275/.313/.493 with 16 extra-base hits and an .806 OPS in 149 plate appearances.
A large portion of his offensive value again came in key situations. Sosa hit .323 with a .923 OPS with runners in scoring position, with that OPS ranking in the 89th percentile among the 298 hitters with at least 70 plate appearances in those situations. He also ranked in the top 16 percent of MLB players in Outs Above Average and sprint speed.
Sosa played through discomfort late in the season and remained available wherever the Phillies needed him. He has been with the organization since the 2022 trade deadline, becoming a fan favorite while filling just about every role imaginable across the infield and outfield. His versatility and right-handed bat could make him attractive to several teams looking for more than a traditional bench player.
José Alvarado, LHP, age 31
2026 stats: 68 G, 5-4, 5.86 ERA, 58⅓ IP, 70 K, 1.65 WHIP
2026 salary: $9 million
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Few players have experienced more of this Phillies era than Alvarado. He joined the organization before the 2021 season and, at his best, developed into one of baseball's most overpowering left-handed relievers.
But 2026 was a significant step backward. Alvarado continued to miss bats, striking out 70 in 58⅓ innings, but his 5.86 ERA and 1.65 WHIP pushed him away from the high-leverage role he once owned. The Phillies exercised his $9 million option for 2026 after his 2025 season was interrupted by an 80-game PED suspension, but the dominant version of Alvarado never returned consistently enough.
That makes this offseason different from previous ones. Philadelphia is no longer simply planning around Alvarado as one of its late-inning fixtures. It has to decide whether there is still enough upside to keep him in a bullpen that already figures to undergo changes.
Brooks Raley, LHP, age 38
Phillies stats: 16 G, 7.94 ERA, 11⅓ IP, 11 K, 1.94 WHIP
2026 salary: $4.75 million
Approx. salary with Phillies: $1.4 million
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Raley looked like one of the safer bullpen additions available when the Phillies acquired him from the Mets at the deadline for outfielder John Spikerman and right-hander Luke Gabrysh. He arrived with a 1.96 ERA in 45 appearances for New York.
Almost none of that success followed him across the division.
Raley allowed 10 earned runs and four home runs in only 11⅓ innings with Philadelphia, finishing with a 7.94 ERA after the trade. His struggles eventually pushed him far enough down the bullpen pecking order that the Phillies left him off their Wild Card roster.
At 38, Raley reaches free agency after two completely different halves of a season: one that made him an appealing deadline target and another that kept him from being usable when the Phillies reached October.
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Tim Mayza, LHP, age 34
2026 stats: 60 G, 6 GS, 3-4, 3.48 ERA, 67⅓ IP, 64 K, 1.13 WHIP
2026 salary: $1.75 million
Mayza quietly became one of the steadier pieces in an otherwise volatile Phillies bullpen. He gave them 67⅓ innings, handled six opener assignments and finished with a 3.48 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.
He was never deployed as a traditional late-inning reliever, but his ability to handle left-handed hitters, cover multiple innings and occasionally open games gave Mattingly useful flexibility over a long season. For a club that will once again have bullpen holes to fill, Mayza provided considerable value relative to his $1.75 million salary.
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The Phillies now have to decide whether that reliability is worth bringing back or whether the bullpen needs a more significant overhaul after another season in which the rotation carried a disproportionate share of the pitching load.
