DOMONIC BROWN entered this offseason eligible for arbitration for the second straight winter.
The likelihood that he was going to be tendered a contract wasn't strong: Brown made $2.6 million last year, the second consecutive season when he failed to regain his status as an important young cog in the middle of the Phillies' lineup.
The Phillies got ahead of the process a couple of months early.
Brown, 28, an All-Star in 2013, was among four players outrighted off the 40-man roster on Monday. Teams have until Dec. 2 to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.
Brown can elect to become a free agent, as reliever Justin De Fratus did two weeks ago when he was also outrighted off the 40-man roster.