Phils Likely to Offer Arbitration to Burrell and Moyer

According to Ken Mandel of MLB.com, the Phillies will likely offer arbitration to both Pat Burrell and Jamie Moyer.

The Phillies will likely offer binding salary arbitration to Type A free agents Jamie Moyer and Pat Burrell by Monday's midnight ET deadline, ensuring Draft pick compensation should either or both sign elsewhere.

Thankfully, we will not offer arbitration to Tom Gordon or Rudy Seanez. I think this is a good move by the Phillies. The Phillies will likely reach a multi-year agreement with Moyer before his hearing, but they're not budging much with Burrell.

The article reports that the Phillies have offered Burrell no more than a two-year deal, so it is unlikely he accepts arbitration. This does not mean that the Phillies cannot negotiate with him, but he'll likely sign somewhere else. If he does, the Phillies will receive a sandwich pick and a first or second round pick based on Burrell's new team's 2008 record.

By offering both of their Type-A free agents arbitration, it seems like a win-win. Both Burrell and Moyer would see raises in arbitration, but not enough to set the Phillies back. If they both accepted the one-year deals, it'll just push the decision making back to next year. If they do not accept and they sign elsewhere, the Phillies will have extra draft picks to work with to help stockpile their bleek farm system.