Eric Hosmer, Brandon Belt headline 25 to qualify for ‘Super 2’ status

A lucky few have been rewarded with an extra year of arbitration.

Oct 29, 2013, 11:41 PM UTC

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Eric Hosmer, Brandon Belt and 23 others have qualified for Major League Baseball's special "Super Two" status this winter, meaning they'll be eligible for the arbitration for the first time this offseason, reports the Associated Press.

The Super Two designation was created to reward a percentage of players with between two and three years of major league service time by giving them an extra year of arbitration; most players get three years, Super Twos get four. In many cases, the extra year of negotiating power leads to that small subset of players getting larger salaries.

The cutoff date for Super Two qualification this season was two years and 122 days of service time, which is down considerably from last winter (2 years, 139 days). Because the cutoff is so precise, there are several players who just missed being able to sit at the negotiating table. Red Sox left-hander Felix Doubront missed the cutoff by two days, while Mariners right-hander Charlie Furbush missed it by just one.

Here’s the full list of Super Twos, alphabetically by team:

Chris Nelson, 3B - Angels
Fernando Rodriguez, RHP - Athletics
Mike Minor, LHP - Braves
Juan Francisco, 1B - Brewers
Pedro Strop, RHP - Cubs
Mike Baxter, OF - Dodgers
Brandon Belt, 1B - Giants
Vinnie Pestano, RHP - Indians
Frank Herrmann, RHP - Indians
Steve Cishek, RHP - Marlins
Lucas Duda, OF - Mets
Ruben Tejada, INF - Mets
Tyson Ross, RHP - Padres
Jesus Guzman, 1B/OF - Padres
Ben Revere, OF - Phillies
Michael McKenry, C - Pirates
Jose Lobaton, C - Rays
Jake McGee, LHP - Rays
Juan Nicasio, RHP - Rockies
Eric Hosmer, 1B - Royals
Al Alburquerque, RHP - Tigers
Andy Dirks, OF - Tigers
Trevor Plouffe, 3B - Twins
Tyler Flowers, C - White Sox
Dayan Viciedo, OF - White Sox

As you can see, the quality of the players to reach Super Two status is somewhat of a mixed bag. Some of this is circumstance, but a lot of it also has to do with teams actively attempting to avoid the cutoff with their top prospects. This is why several young players -- e.g. Rays outfielder Wil Myers -- aren't brought up until after the All-Star break.