There are a couple of interesting events on Friday's baseball calendar.
Teams will exchange proposed salary figures with arbitration-eligible players at 1 p.m.
Also, the international signing period for 16-year-old prospects is set to begin. By the end of the day, the Phillies are expected to finalize deals with more than a dozen young players from Latin America.
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According to Baseball America, the Phils will strike deals with power-hitting outfielder Yemal Flores of the Dominican Republic and catcher Ricardo Perez of Venezuela.
Industry buzz also connects the Phillies to center fielder Raylin Heredia of the Dominican Republic, second baseman Leonardo Rondon of Venezuela and shortstop Marcos Soto, also of Venezuela.
These players will debut in the Phillies' system this summer, along with outfielder Yhoswar Garcia, who was signed for $2.5 million out of Venezuela last year. His debut was delayed by the pandemic.
As for salary arbitration, the Phillies have three players still eligible — first baseman Rhys Hoskins, starting pitcher Vince Velasquez and newly acquired reliever Jose Alvarado.
MLB
The Phils previously reached one-year agreements with pitchers Hector Neris, Seranthony Dominguez, Zach Eflin and Dave Hale, as well as catcher Andrew Knapp, taking them out of the arbitration process for 2021.
Hoskins is a first-time arbitration-eligible player. He was slated to make $605,000 before the pandemic hit last year and could see his salary rise above $4 million in 2021.
Velasquez is in his third and final year of arbitration. He could make north of $4 million.
Alvarado projects to make just north of $1 million.
The exchange date generally ignites a flurry of agreements around baseball so it's possible any one of these players could sign before numbers are exchanged. In the exchange process, the two sides each propose a one-year salary and an arbitration panel picks one figure or another. Hearings are held in February, but the two sides can come to an agreement at any time.
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