1-year contracts, regardless of price, are flyers (despite no Flyers making this list). If they don’t hit, you throw more darts at the board and try again next year. It’s not a big deal. However, if they do, they can change the trajectory of a team completely. To get the value of a starter (or even a star) for the price of a low-end reserve is to completely change up the dynamics of the payroll and the roster. Below are the best 1-year veteran contracts (with one exception) signed in Philly sports over the last 25 years (so no rookie deals). In no small part to these deals, our teams have won 4 championships and been to 3 more.
Shane Victorino
Signed March 31-ish, 2005 – This is cheating a little bit (right off the bat), but meets with the spirit of the list. In December 2004, the Phillies selected Victorino in the Rule 5 draft from the Dodgers at the price of $50k. When it became clear that he would not be making the Phillies roster, they were forced to offer him back to the Dodgers for $25k. The Dodgers declined. Victorino would be named International League MVP that year and make a cameo debut for the big club. Over the next 6 years in Philly he became our starting CF, racked up 24 WAR, received MVP votes twice, made 2 All-Star appearances, won 2 Gold Gloves, and won the World Series. All that because the Dodgers didn’t think he was worth $25k.
Jayson Werth
Signed December 19, 2006 – Werth was picked up off the scrap heap by Pat Gillick after injuries marred his time with the Dodgers. He started as a platoon in right field and blossomed into an All-Star receiving MVP votes while leading the Phillies to 4 consecutive division titles and a World Series win. When he signed, he still had 3 years of club control left but signed a short extension that added an additional year. In total, he made 12.6m as a Phillie but racked up 15.7 WAR with an .885 OPS. The Nationals then signed him to a 7/$126m contract.
Evan Mathis
Signed July 29, 2011 – Mathis was 29 and an often-injured journeyman of 3 organizations before signing with the Eagles for the league minimum. The former 3rd round pick immediately showed promise and started 15 games in 2011 which led to a 5/$25m contract extension with the Birds. He finished his tenure with two Pro Bowls and a 1st Team All-Pro selection.
Patrick Robinson
Signed March 28, 2017 – One of the heroes of the 2017 NFC Championship game when his pick 6 made Lincoln Financial Field basically explode. It only tied the game, but it opened the floodgates for the rout. All of this was made possible by a minimum deal after an injury plagued season in Indy. Robinson came to Philly, started only 7 games but played the 2nd most snaps among CBs that season and picked off 4 passes during the season. The next season he secured a 4/$20m deal from New Orleans, but he will be forever beloved in Philly for this one year.
Marco Belinelli and Erson Ilyasova
Signed Feb 12 and Feb 28, 2018 – In the post-trade deadline NBA, players are bought out and can sign with whoever will have them but usually contenders. That year both chose the Sixers for a grand total of $1.3m. Ilyasova became a quick fan favorite the year before when he came over in the now famous Jerami Grant trade with OKC. He was later traded to Atlanta and then released. Upon coming back to the Sixers, he confidently let needed 3s fly and took charges like nobody’s business. Belinelli came in and started bombing away like he was in a video game, shooting 39% on 6 attempts per game in only 25 minutes. Of course, the most important shot was the 3 that wasn’t. With balloons falling, his game winner was correctly corrected to a 2 and the Sixers lost to the Celtics in OT. They may seem like nothing deals, but the team was 25-25 after 50 games that year but went 21-5 down the stretch with Belinelli and Ilyasova both in the lineup to claim the 3rd seed in the East.
Jeff Hoffman
Signed April 3, 2023 to a minor league contract – Hoffman was originally taken 9th overall in the 2014 draft but through injury and ineffectiveness never blossomed in the Majors. The story goes that the Phillies needed someone to throw BP to a recovering-from-injury Bryce Harper and Hoffman was so impressive that the Phillies brought him up to the big club. The playoffs weren’t kind, but in 2 seasons Hoffman pitched 118 innings with a 2.28 ERA. These weren’t easy outs either as Hoffman was always the fireman Topper called to face the heart of opposing lineups.
Zack Baun
Signed March 11, 2024 – As someone who follows the Eagles transaction wire like a hawk, I distinctly remember when the Baun signing was reported. “Who the fuck is Zack Baun?” was what me and most other fans were thinking. The Eagles signed him on Day 1 of free agency as if they were worried this nobody on a 1/$3.5m contract was going to get away from them. Well, he might go down as the greatest free agent bargain in city history considering he was named 1st team All-Pro and finished 5th in DPOY voting for the Super Bowl Champions. He just got better and better as the season went on too. All this after doing basically nothing for 4 years in New Orleans as a former 3rd round pick. Crazy.
Spencer Turnbull
Signed February 11, 2024 – Turnbull signed a 1/$2m deal before Spring Training and none of us batted an eye. The Phillies started the year down Taijuan Walker to injury and needed a replacement. Enter Turnbull who started 7 games with a 1.78 ERA. He was demoted to the bullpen when Walker came back and eventually got hurt, but Turnbull was a big part of the Phillies fast start that year, even if it was short lived. The reason he makes the list though is because of all the other pitching failures signed the last few years. Over the last few years, the following free agents received 1-year deals from the Phillies: Archie Bradley ($6), Corey Knebel ($10m), Brad Hand ($6m), Jeurys Familia ($6m), Craig Kimbrel ($10m), Whit Merrifield ($8m), Max Kepler ($10m), Jordan Romano ($8.5m), and Joe Ross ($4m). That’s $68.5m for 9 guys. Maybe Kimbrel was better than Turnbull, but that ended in the worst way possible. Turnbull has been Dombrowski’s best 1-year free agent signing.
James Bradberry (the first time)
Signed May 18, 2022 – Pay no attention to the contract extension he signed after his first season (that’s for next week’s list), it’s that first year that we all know and love (except for the last play of the season). Bradberry was released by the Giants and then scooped up to be CB2 for the Eagles at the low price of $7.25m. For his efforts? 2nd Team All-Pro and a Super Bowl appearance for the best CB duo in the league. Simply, he was a godsend that year.
Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker
Signed July 5 and July 9, 2025 to 2-way contracts – They might be the most recent and the season isn’t over yet, but you would be hard pressed to find better value than these two. The Sixers had NOTHING at power forward entering the season considering the plan was to play Paul George there. Instead, for the low price of $170k so far (total) the two have combined for 73 games and 35 starts while providing fantastic rebounding metrics. Rebounding and toughness have been the Achillies heal of the Sixers for years and then completely by chance these two come in for almost nothing when the team had very little to spend.
If you can think of anyone else, please leave a comment!
All contracts courtesy of Spotrac
Philly Front Office 
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