How are salaries determined for players who have X years of service?
Players with less than two years of service, and the 83% of players with the lowest service time among third-year players, have no negotiating rights with their teams. The teams can offer whatever they want, subject only to the minimum salary. The players’ only leverage is to refuse to sign any contract at all; they may not attempt to negotiate with another team. Such players often don’t get just the minimum salary, partly because of the team’s interest in maintaining good will; paying a player $300,000 instead of $109,000 for $1M worth of production is still a good deal, and may make the player more likely to stay for below market value when he becomes a free agent. The top 17% of third-year players, and all players with at least three years of service, are eligible for arbitration. They may still negotiate with their teams for salaries. However, their teams cannot force them to accept an offer or go without a job. If a player and his team cannot agree on a salary, the team may choose
