Non-tender candidate: Tommy Hunter

Tommy Hunter has had a rough go of it during his brief MLB career. After being drafted in the first round of the 2007 draft by the Rangers, many thought that he would be a future fixture in their rotation. After putting up decent numbers with the Rangers in their farm system, he earned a few cups of coffee with them in 2008-2009. 2010 was his best year, posting a 3.73 ERA while earning 13 wins. When the Orioles acquired Hunter in exchange for Koji Uehara last summer, I liked the move at the time. Baltimore was getting Hunter, who had nice upside, and was young (25 years old at the time.) The Orioles weren't contending, so they didn't need Uehara.

I'm sure that the Orioles aren't terribly regretting this move today, even though Hunter has been awful. Their bullpen has been amazing, and the loss of Uehara hasn't really affected it. Anyway, Hunter has been atrocious this season. He has a 5.90 ERA in 24 appearances, including 20 starts. He has allowed a league-leading 26 home runs, and has only struck out 65 in 122.0 innings. The Orioles have a few young arms coming up soon, most notably Dylan Bundy, and someone will need to get kicked out of the rotation. That could be either Hunter or possibly Jake Arrieta. I feel like the organization has high hopes for Arrieta, so Hunter will most likely be the odd man out.

If the Orioles non-tender Hunter, it wouldn't be because they'd be saving money. If both sides agreed on a deal through arbitration, they would probably end up in the $600-$800k range, for a one-year deal of-course. Overall, it's clear that a change of scenery would clearly benefit Hunter, as he looks to live up to his first-round draft pick hype.