Friday marks the deadline for MLB teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players for next season. Those who are not offered a contract are considered non-tendered and immediately become free agents.
With that in mind, we will be examining potential non-tender candidates on the A's. We started with Josh Phegley Monday. Next up is relief pitcher Ryan Dull.
Dull, 29, is projected to get $900K in arbitration, according to MLB Trade Rumors. The right-hander split time between Triple-A and MLB last season, compiling a 4.26 ERA in 28 games with the A's and a 3.54 ERA in 23 games with Nashville.
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The 2018 season marked an improvement for Dull, who struggled to a 5.14 ERA in 2017. Still, he failed to establish himself as one of the A's trusted arms out of the bullpen.
While $900K doesn't seem like a lot, the A's could still choose to non-tender Dull and try to sign him to a minor-league deal. Of course, they would then run the risk of losing him to another team, as he would become an unrestricted free agent.
Oakland's bullpen figures to be a strength once again next season and with all the talented arms coming back, there may not be room for Dull. However, the A's could still decide to bring him back for depth purposes, especially with all the pitching injuries they suffered last season. We will have our answer shortly.