SEATTLE -- When David Phelps hits free agency for the first time in three weeks, he'll do so with little in the way of bargaining power.
That, and his entire 2018 season with the Mariners, went south in one excruciating flash of pain in his throwing elbow on the final pitch of a Cactus League game against the Angels last March, a moment that led to Tommy John surgery and a long year of rehab and recovery for the talented reliever.
Phelps made $5.5 million last season in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and he now reaches the free-agent market at a less-than-opportune time.