MLB free agency: Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim, more players cut at non-tender deadline

Major League Baseball’s offseason cleared another important threshold at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, when the deadline for teams to tender 2026 contracts to their arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration players passed. Those individuals who do not receive tenders immediately became free agents, joining a class that features past non-tendered talent like designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and outfielder Cody Bellinger.

Breaking down the 10 most interesting non-tender decisions, including Nathaniel Lowe, Alec Bohm, Gavin Lux

R.J. Anderson

Below, CBS Sports will track the league’s non-tendered players, beginning with the most intriguing players who have entered the free agent pool. Do note that non-tendered players tend to be in the arbitration phase, meaning that they’re earning more than the league minimum.

Onward.

Notable non-tendered MLB players

OF Adolis García, Texas Rangers
García, the 2023 ALCS MVP and a key member of the Rangers’ World Series team, was among those non-tendered. He hit .227/.271/.294 with 19 home runs in 2025 — García has a .278 on-base percentage in his last 1,200 plate appearances — and while he plays solid defense, that’s not enough offense for a corner outfield spot. García was projected to make $12 million or so through arbitration in what would have been his final year of team control next season. Power-starved clubs figure to show the most interest in him as a free agent.

player headshot

team logo

1B Nathaniel Lowe, Boston Red Sox
With a projected $13 million salary, it is no surprise the Red Sox non-tendered Lowe, who they signed off the scrap heap in August. Lowe had a tough start to the season with the Washington Nationals and got released, which led him to Boston. He performed well for the Red Sox (.280/.370/.420 in 34 games) and is a Gold Glove-caliber defender at first base, but that projected salary was deemed too high for a first baseman who has hit 20 home runs once in his career. Lowe was designated for assignment earlier this week, so the non-tender wraps up that bit of business.

player headshot

team logo

RHP Evan Phillips, Los Angeles Dodgers
It is a harsh business. Phillips, 31, has been one of the Dodgers’ most reliable late-inning relievers the last few years. On Friday, he was non-tendered and sent out into free agency because he had Tommy John surgery in July and will miss most or all of the 2026 season. It would have been a final year of team control, meaning tendering/signing Phillips would have carried him right to free agency. He was projected to make roughly $6 million next season. The Dodgers could re-sign him a lower-cost two-year contract that allows Phillips to rehab in 2026, then contribute in 2027.

player headshot