Non-tendered players that could fit the Diamondbacks
Four players who were non-tendered by their clubs who make an interesting fit on the 2025 Diamondbacks
The deadline to tender pre-arb and arbitration-eligible players contracts passed on Friday. On the Diamondbacks, only one player was non-tendered, left-hander Brandon Hughes. Like Hughes, several other players across Major League Baseball were cut loose by their previous teams and have become free agents. While a player may be non-tendered, it doesn’t mean they couldn’t produce value for another club in the right situation or fit.
Here are four non-tendered players to keep an eye on as potential fits for the D-backs in 2025.
OF Austin Hays
If the Diamondbacks are looking for a cheaper alternative to Randal Grichuk on the free agent market, then Hays makes a lot of sense as a fourth outfielder. Once a productive outfielder for the Orioles, he was traded to the Phillies for Gregory Soto at the deadline. With Philadelphia, Hayes hit .256 with two home runs and a .672 OPS (86 OPS+) before getting cut loose at the non-tender deadline with a projected salary of $6.4 million for 2025 in his final arbitration season.
Hays makes sense since he has strong career numbers against left-handed pitching. Against lefties, he has a career triple slash of .277/.331/.469 (120 wRC+). He had been solid against righties in 2022-2023, but saw that split crater in 2024 as he barely hit over .200 with a sub-.600 OPS. The best chance for him to recoup value would be in a fourth outfielder role where he’ll get roughly a 50/50 split against righties and lefties.
The underlying data points to a rough picture, but against lefties he more than holds his own. In 89 plate appearances and 59 balls put into play, Hays has a hard-hit rate (batted balls with a 95.0 MPH exit velocity or greater) just under 50% and barrel rate of 11.2%. Those are similar numbers to what Grichuk did in 2024 against lefties, with a 49.6% hard-hit rate and a 11.7% barrel rate. Hayes didn’t quite perform as well as Grichuk, who had double the sample size, but the drop-off won’t be as stark.
RHP Jordan Romano
The former All-Star closer for the Blue Jays was limited to 13 ineffective innings in 2024, as a right elbow impingement that required surgery ended his season early. Romano’s 96 MPH fastball plays above its velocity due to the amount of extension he gets off the mound thanks to his lanky 6’5” frame and also has equally as devastating a slider.
Health has been a huge issue for the hard-throwing right-hander, but in the previous two years logged 72 saves and a sub-3.00 ERA. With the combination of elbow surgery (not Tommy John) and a salary set to rise to $7.75 million in his final arbitration year, the Blue Jays elected to cut ties.
Should the Diamondbacks sign Romano, he would immediately be the frontrunner to close if healthy. He has more experience than anyone on the roster plus it would allow for the rest of the bullpen to settle. He would not be around long enough to clock Justin Martinez from growing into the role and staking claim to the job in 2026.
INF Jon Berti
Berti is an interesting addition but last year proved having capable depth on the infield can make a difference. Kevin Newman was a godsend for the D-backs, who had injuries to both Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte, but now he’s in Anaheim. Berti fills a similar role, with experience at short, third base, second, and the outfield. While they added Tim Tawa to the 40-man roster earlier in the week, Tawa has no experience playing shortstop and having a capable backup there is important.
While Jordan Lawlar is possibly the shortstop of the future, he needs to be playing every day after missing essentially all of 2024 with various injuries. Needing to make up for those lost reps, it’s better that the D-backs go with a more veteran option to back up Geraldo Perdomo. While Berti is unlikely to hit for much power, he has good plate discipline and hits for a solid average.
While he got a small cameo with the Yankees and performed fairly well, New York decided to move on from the soon-to-be 35-year-old utility player instead of paying him a $3.8 million salary.
LHP Patrick Sandoval
This is more of a longer-term play for the D-backs, as Sandoval is unlikely to pitch in 2025 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Arizona stands to lose three members of its current projected starting rotation in the next calendar year and the farm system is not going to be able to replenish those losses. Sandoval should be a full go in 2026, where he slots in as the No. 4 starter behind Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson, and Eduardo Rodríguez in the rotation.
When healthy, Sandoval gets a healthy amount of swing-and-miss on his low-90s fastball and changeup. However, there is also the concerns of workload, as he’s never made 30 starts or pitched 150 innings in a big league uniform. However, he should give the rotation solid innings when on the mound. Sandoval was projected to make $5.9 million in 2025, with that likely being his salary in 2026 due to missing most of the year.
Michael McDermott has been writing about the Arizona Diamondbacks, and their minor league system, for 9 seasons for AZ Snake Pit, Diamondbacks on SI, and Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X at x.com/michaelmcdmlb or at Bluesky.