As Thanksgiving has come and gone, the next important date of the Major League Baseball offseason is just days away: Monday’s 8 p.m. deadline for clubs to decide whether to “non-tender” their arbitration-eligible players.
When an arbitration-eligible player becomes “non-tendered,” their previous club is declining to offer them a contract for the upcoming season; therefore, the player is immediately made a free agent.
Players are up for non-tender consideration if they are on the 40-man roster and have fewer than six years of Major League service time. Reasons players could be no-tendered include that the club believes a salary increase they would receive in arbitration exceeds their on-field value, and/or that the club simply wants to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.