3 Phillies elect free agency

Jeff Hoffman, Carlos Estévez and Spencer Turnbull will be free agents this offseason and can sign with new teams as soon as five days after the World Series wraps up. However, a trio of other Phillies arms has already hit the open market.

Righties Andrew Bellatti, Nick Nelson and Dylan Covey all elected free agency Thursday, according to the transactions log on the official website of Minor League Baseball.

As noted by Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors, “these players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.”

Bellatti, 33, had the finest season of his MLB career to date in 2022 for the Phillies, posting a 3.31 ERA and 2.87 FIP across 59 games. However, he struggled across 27 appearances for the Phillies in 2023, finishing with a 5.11 ERA. Bellatti didn’t pitch at all at the MLB level in 2024, with his 5.48 ERA over 46 games for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs a major reason why.

Nelson made five appearances for the Phillies over the last two seasons, but the 28-year-old spent most of that his time between 2023 and 2024 either on the injured list or with the IronPigs. He made 47 appearances for the NL Champion Phillies in 2022, two of which were starts. His 4.85 ERA that season doesn’t stand out, but his 3.04 ERA across 68 2/3 innings paints a much better picture.

Finally, Covey posted a 3.69 ERA and 4.26 FIP across 28 games, 27 of which were relief appearances, for the 2023 Phillies. A right shoulder strain cost the 33-year-old much of the 2024 season, though he did end up pitching in 18 games between Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A this year, some of which were rehab appearances.

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