MLB Salary Arbitration, Super Two, and Service Time Explained
Ordinary three-to-six-year eligibility, Super Two, exchange dates, barred CBT evidence, and the service-time rules the MLBPA exam tests.
Salary arbitration is the core of the MLBPA exam's player-movement math. Ordinary eligibility is three-to-six years of Major League service. Super Two pulls a slice of two-to-three-year players into the same process a year early.
Who is eligible
- A player with at least three but less than six years of Major League service is ordinarily eligible for salary arbitration
- Super Two is the top 22% of players with at least two but less than three years of service and at least 86 days in the prior season
- Free agency follows six years of Major League service, subject to the Basic Agreement's other conditions
- Service is credited in days. A year of Major League service is 172 days
How a hearing works
- The club and the player exchange figures on the date the Basic Agreement sets for that cycle
- The panel picks one figure or the other — it does not split the difference
- Competitive Balance Tax evidence is barred. Do not treat CBT payroll as an arbitration comparable
- The criteria the panel may consider are listed in the Basic Agreement. Memorise what is in and what is out
What this is not
- Not the NFL franchise tag. Baseball has no equivalent one-year exclusive tender at a positional average
- Not NBA Bird rights. A club's ability to sign its own free agent is a different article
- Not a hard cap conversation. CBT and arbitration are separate systems
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Super Two a round number of years?
No. It is a percentage of a two-to-three-year cohort, plus a days-in-the-prior-season floor. Treating it as 'two years' is a common way to miss the question.
Do I need this year's dollar amounts?
You need the structure: who is eligible, what gets exchanged, and what evidence is barred. Absolute dollars move; the relationships are what the paper tests.
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