The deadline for ballclubs to offer their free agents arbitration passed as of midnight last night, and the Red Sox had six eligible free agents on the table.

As expected, the Sox offered arbitration to relief pitcher Mike Timlin. Although Timlin reportedly already received a contract offer for one more year from the Sox worth $3 million (a $300,000 raise from his 2007 salary), the exact terms of the contract have not yet been finalized. Theo Epstein confirmed Friday that the Sox were on the verge of re-signing one of their free agents, and it appears the player he was referring to was Timlin. Timlin is a Type B free agent, so by offering him arbitration the Sox guarantee a compensatory draft pick if contract negotiations somehow fall through and he declines arbitration and signs with another club instead.

The CBA which governs the arbitration process underwent a revision in 2006. Previously, if a club failed to offer arbitration to its eligible free agents, the club lost the right to negotiate with that free agent and couldn't resign him for 5 months (until May 1st of the following year). However, under the current CBA arrangement, clubs can continue to negotiate with their free agents-- whether they offer arbitration or not. Essentially, the incentive to offer arbitration is now purely for the compensatory draft picks-- it makes little sense to offer arbitration to any free agents who do not rate a Type A or Type B classification, outside specific contractual advantages.

So, it's no surprise, then, that the Red Sox did not offer arbitration to Matt Clement, Bobby Kielty, Eric Hinske or Doug Mirabelli, as none of these players garnered a Type A or Type B classification. However, Kielty and Mirabelli, in particular, are players the Red Sox are still believed to have interest in retaining.

The Sox did offer arbitration to Eric Gagne- a Type B free agent. Reportedly, it is highly unlikely Gagne will accept the offer- he wants to be a closer, and that opportunity is not available to him in Boston- so the Sox protected their ability to get that compensatory draft pick. However, there is always the risk that Gagne would accept the arbitration offer- and if that happens, he is considered "signed" and will be a member of the '08 Red Sox... it just becomes a matter of the amount he will be paid. And per the terms of the CBA a free agent who accepts arbitration can be subject to no greater than a 20% paycut of what he made the previous year (in Gagne's case, $6 million for 2007).

Timlin and Gagne have until Friday, December 7th to accept or decline the arbitration offers extended by the Red Sox.

The arbitration boys
Timlin is trying to explain to Gagne what the small, white spherical object is.

Here's a quick rundown of what some other MLB teams did with their arbitration-eligible players... with the more interesting players (in my opinion) bolded.

Astros: Mark Loretta, Trever Miller
(did not offer Craig Biggio, Jason Jennings, Mike Lamb, Brian Moehler, Orlando Palmeiro)

Athletics: Mike Piazza, Shannon Stewart
(did not offer Jeff Davanon)

Blue Jays: (did not offer Sal Fasano)

Braves: Ron Mahey
(did not offer Andruw Jones)

Cardinals: (did not offer David Eckstein)

Diamondbacks: Livan Hernandez
(did not offer Tony Clark, Jeff Cirillo, Bob Wickman)

Giants: Pedro Feliz
(did not offer Barry Bonds, Ryan Klesko, Mike Matheny, Russ Ortiz)

Indians: (did not offer Chris Gomez, Kenny Lofton, Trot Nixon)

Marlins: (did not offer to Armando Benitez, Aaron Boone, Byung-Hyun Kim)

Nationals: (did not offer Robert Fick)

Padres: Michael Barrett, Mike Cameron
(did not offer Milton Bradley)

Phillies: Aaron Rowand
(did not offer Freddy Garcia)

Pirates: (did not offer Tony Armas, Shawn Chacon)

Rangers: (did not offer Jerry Hairston Jr., Sammy Sosa, Brad Wilkerson, Jamey Wright)

Reds: (did not offer Eddie Guardado, Eric Milton)

Royals: David Riske

Yankees: Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez, Luis Vizcaino.
(did not offer Roger Clemens, Jose Molina, Ron Villone)