As part of the frenzy leading up to the likely owner-imposed MLB lockout later this week, Tuesday night saw the non-tender deadline. What's the non-tender deadline? The short version is players who don't have guaranteed contracts -- those who haven't yet hit free agency through the arbitration process -- on the 40-man roster will either be tendered a contract for next season or non-tendered, which releases them from the team and sends them to free agency.
The much shorter version: The players below have been cut.
Most of the time the players non-tendered aren't really needle-movers, but we'll get some big names in there. Kyle Schwarber, for example, was non-tendered by the Cubs last season and went onto an All-Star season with the Nationals before being the Red Sox leadoff hitter on a playoff run to the ALCS.
The biggest name who appeared to be a non-tender candidate this time around was Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez, but they have tendered him a contract for 2022. The Yankees tendered contracts to all eligible players, including first baseman Luke Voit.
Here are the most notable players who were non-tendered Tuesday night:
Matthew Boyd, LHP, Tigers - The lefty has shown flashes of mid-rotation upside and used to be on the trade rumor mill often. He'll be picked up. Something to keep in mind, he had flexor tendon surgery in September. Maybe a mid-season upside play here.
Richard Rodríguez, RHP, Braves - A quality closer with the Pirates before being a nice add in front of the trade deadline, "Rich Rod" sputtered in his time in Atlanta and wasn't relevant come playoff time. Still, he has a career 3.28 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with about a strikeout per inning in his career.
Daniel Vogelbach, 1B/DH Brewers - There's no doubting the raw power. Vogelbach hit 30 homers in 2019. He was great for the Brewers in a 19-game sample in 2020, too. Overall, he's hit .209/.336/.403 (101 OPS+) in his career. He's an extreme high-power, high-strikeout, low-average guy who will find work as a bench bat.
Robert Gsellman, RHP, Mets - He's served as a starter, closer and everything in between. In 350 2/3 career innings, Gsellman has a 4.59 ERA (88 ERA+) and 1.40 WHIP. In the right situation, he could settle into a quality reliever.
Billy McKinney, OF, Rangers - In parts of four MLB seasons, McKinney has played for five teams. That tells you he has enough talent to keep getting work but he hasn't played well enough -- or found the right situation. He's a career .215/.286/.404 hitter.
Roman Quinn, OF, Phillies - The switch-hitter is one of the fastest players in baseball, so at the very least he'll find a pinch-running/defensive-replacement role somewhere.
Johan Camargo, IF, Braves - Camargo was very valuable for the Braves in 2017 and 2018, but he's been worth negative WAR since. Last regular season, he was 0 for 16 at the plate. He's still only 28 years old next season, though.
Chad Kuhl, RHP, Pirates - Kuhl has made 88 starts in five years with the Pirates. He has a career 4.44 ERA (95 ERA+). The hunch is a team in full-on rebuilding mode could use Kuhl just as an innings-eater in the rotation, even if not for the entire season.
Phil Gosselin, UT, Angels - He can play almost anywhere on the diamond and is a career .261 hitter with a .314 on-base percentage. Perhaps a bench role is in the future of the 33-year-old.
