May 16, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher JosŽ Alvarado (46 and catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) hug after a victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
Enjoy Game 7 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays Saturday night. The second it ends, the clock will start on the offseason for the Phillies.
Within five days of the Fall Classic concluding, teams/players need to decide on contract options. The Phillies have two contract options to consider.
José Alvarado has a $9 million club option for 2026, which comes with a $500,000 buyout if the Phillies don't exercise it. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski did not commit to the Phillies picking it up in his year-end press conference, but did say, "I'd be surprised, without making any announcements, if Alvarado's not back with us."
The Phillies could decline the option and try to work out a deal at a lower price, but even after a year where he served a PED suspension, it's possible a team would be willing to give Alvarado at least $9 million (and perhaps a second year) on the open market. The most likely scenario is that the Phillies just pick up the $9 million option.
Rob Thomson: “I’m bullish on the club. I’m really bullish on Alvarado too.”
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/fFS3a15lIM
— OnPattison (@OnPattison) October 16, 2025
Meanwhile, Harrison Bader has a $10 million mutual option for 2026. Surely, the Phillies would love to have Bader back at that price with only one year of commitment considering he hit .305 in 50 regular-season games after being acquired by the Minnesota Twins. However, Bader will be paid a $3 million buyout if either side declines the mutual option, so he'll almost certainly choose to do that. On top of the $3 million buyout, he should have no problem getting at least $10 million for 2026, and likely on a multi-year deal.
Bader is not eligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Phillies because he was a mid-season trade candidate. Neither is J.T. Realmuto, because the Phillies already extended a qualifying offer to Realmuto before he tested free agency after the 2020 season, and players can only be saddled with the QO once in their career.
Kyle Schwarber and Ranger Suárez — the two most notable Phillies free agents this offseason — will both receive qualifying offers from the Phillies, a one-year/$22.025 million offer that needs to be extended within five days of the World Series concluding. Schwarber and Suárez have to decide by 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 18 whether or not to take the qualifying offer. It is a guarantee that both will decline it. That means if either leaves in free agency, the Phillies will receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round of the 2026 MLB Draft.
Keep in mind, any player that's a free agent can sign with a new team by 5 p.m. ET the fifth day after the World Series. MLB isn't like the NFL or NBA where players sign the second free agency opens, although they technically could if they want.
Trades can resume even sooner than that, as teams will be able to complete deals again as soon as Sunday. Again, it's unlikely any trades will materialize that quickly, but Dombrowski and company can begin plotting some offseason trades within the next 24 hours.
In some cases, the Phillies might be inclined to act quickly on the trade market.
Alec Bohm, for example, is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to make $10.3 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility. He's too good to non-tender, but that's a lot for a player that posted a 102 OPS+ (100 is a league average player) this past season. The non-tender deadline is Nov. 21, and the Phillies could look to trade Bohm prior to that. They could just offer him arbitration or try to work out a deal at a lower price for 2026, while still attempting to trade him. But it's also possible that the Phillies could try to move quickly with Bohm on the trade market.
Jesús Luzardo ($10.4 million), Jhoan Duran ($7.6 million), Bryson Stott ($5.8 million), Brandon Marsh ($4.5 million), Edmundo Sosa ($3.9 million), Tanner Banks ($1.2 million) and Rafael Marchán ($1 million) will all either work out deals with the Phillies for 2026 or be offered arbitration. That wouldn't preclude the Phillies from considering trade offers for any of them, with Marsh in particular someone that could have some value on the trade market this winter.
Garrett Stubbs is the final arbitration-eligible player, as he's projected to make $925,000 in 2026. Because Stubbs is out of minor-league options, the Phillies wouldn't just be able to send him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley like they did in 2025. He would first have to clear waivers. Stubbs seems like a non-tender candidate that the Phillies could try to bring back on a minor-league deal with an invite to big league Spring Training. If the 32-year-old is non-tendered, though, he'll be able to listen to offers from other clubs, and it's possible there will be an MLB team that wants to make him their backup catcher for 2026.
If you're head is spinning, that's fine, it's a lot of information. We'll be here to cover it all this winter. The hot stove might not be about to start churning, but it's going to be able to if someone fires it up.
