By Paul Sullivan
The arbitration-eligible cut-off for so-called "Super Two" players will be two years, 139 days, which is exactly how long Mike Fontenot has been in the majors.
That means Fontenot will join Carlos Marmol, Jeff Baker, Sean Marshall, Ryan Theriot, Koyie Hill, Angel Guzman, Tom Gorzelanny, Aaron Heilman and Neal Cotts among the team's arbitration-eligible players. Of those 10, the only ones seemingly in danger of being non-tendered are Cotts, Heilman and Fontenot.
Players who are termed "Super Two" have between two and three years service time and at least 86 days service time the previous year. Of those players, the 17 percent with the most service time get the "Super Two" tag.
Last year, the Cubs offered arbitration to Chad Gaudin, agreed to a $2 million deal, and then released him in spring training, ultimately eating $1.6 million. But the Cubs may want to keep Fontenot as a left-handed hitter off the bench, and he shouldn't cost much money, even in arbitration.
The arbitration-eligible cut-off for so-called "Super Two" players will be two years, 139 days, which is exactly how long Mike Fontenot has been in the majors.
That means Fontenot will join Carlos Marmol, Jeff Baker, Sean Marshall, Ryan Theriot, Koyie Hill, Angel Guzman, Tom Gorzelanny, Aaron Heilman and Neal Cotts among the team's arbitration-eligible players. Of those 10, the only ones seemingly in danger of being non-tendered are Cotts, Heilman and Fontenot.
Players who are termed "Super Two" have between two and three years service time and at least 86 days service time the previous year. Of those players, the 17 percent with the most service time get the "Super Two" tag.
Last year, the Cubs offered arbitration to Chad Gaudin, agreed to a $2 million deal, and then released him in spring training, ultimately eating $1.6 million. But the Cubs may want to keep Fontenot as a left-handed hitter off the bench, and he shouldn't cost much money, even in arbitration.
"Fontenot, a year ago played well, and we'd like to think he's going to come back and be what he was two years before that," general manager Jim Hendry said.
Hendry said Baker, who hit .305 in 69 games after being acquired from Colorado, will get a chance to be the new Mark DeRosa.
"Baker do a lot of things for you if you can put some other pieces in place around him," he said. "He can play three or four spots for us."
Hendry said he's not opposed to giving some arbitration-eligible players multi-year contracts to get through their first year of free-agency.
"I haven't met with anybody or talked in detail about that," he said. "But eventually, for the right guy, if you're confident their health is going to be good and if they could be an integral part of your club, it could make sense for a couple reasons. One, you have a chance to make a deal that's long-term good for the club financially.
"Also, obviously a player in that category, and 'arb' guy, whether it's his first or second year, is not financially set for life yet, so it gives them some security that if they want to be here, make a fair deal with the club and they are certainly a lot more secure than they were before that. It's possible. I don't see it happening on a regular basis."
The only player that fits that category is Marmol, who figures to cash in if the Cubs go an arbitration hearing with him, something the organization is reluctant to do.
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