Someone please help me out. I was reviewing this website to look at the Sox player contracts. White Sox Contracts

 

There are a lot of players not under contract next year that surprise me. What are the rules for arbitration? My understanding is that a player has more than three years and less than six years of MLB service, he is arbitration eligible? What happens if the team offers arbitration and the player declines it?

 

Also, what are the rules concerning minor league contracts?

 

Thanks for anyone that can help me out.

 

Arb in a nutshell:

 

Any player who has achieved three years of major league service time, but fewer than six, is automatically eligible for salary arbitration if he is not under contract. During this process, the team offers the player the salary it wants to pay. The player counters with the figure he feels he deserves. Normally, the two sides continue to negotiate and settle on a number somewhere between these two figures. If they fail to settle, however, the two sides present their cases before an independent arbitrator, who ultimately chooses one figure or the other. That number becomes the player’s salary for the following season.

If a player is not under contract there are a few options. If he has been playing less than 3 years in MLB than he is not eligible for anything, he can either agree to terms with whatever the team and his agent decide or if not be non tendered (cut) by the team on Dec 18th i think. If has service time of 3-6 years he is eligible for arbitration. THat means if the player and a team dont agree on their own contract terms before a certain date, a forget the date, then the team can offer the player arbitration or non-tender him. If they offer arbitration than the team and the player each submit a value of a 1 year figure only and an arbitrator decides on which amount he will be played. However at any point the two can agree to any length and term of contract to cancell the arbitration. If the arbitration is held up it is a 1 year contract only. If a player has 6 or more years of service time he can simply file for free agency.