Free agent types

Tonight at midnight is the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their own free-agent players. In essence, offering arbitration to a player ensures you get draft-pick compensation if the player signs elsewhere. Players have until Sunday (Dec. 7) to accept or decline the arbitration offer. If a Type A player signs elsewhere after being offered arbitration, his former team gets the signing team’s first-round pick (if that team isn’t drafting in the top 15), plus a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds. If the signing team’s pick is in the top 15 and protected, it loses the second-round pick instead. Type B free agents are worth only a supplemental pick between the first and second round. Type A players are the top 20% statistically. Type B is the next 20%. Here is the complete list: Club, Player, Elias Rank ARI Cruz, Juan A ARI Dunn, Adam A ARI Hudson, Orlando A ARI Johnson, Randy B ARI Lyon, Brandon B ATL Smoltz, John B BOS Byrd, ... (link)