The upcoming arbitration baseball season may not involve Carlos Beltran currently serving as right fielder for the New York Mets.  Beltran, 34, currently has a seven-year contract worth almost $120 million, but it is due to expire this year.  The Mets will have the option of offering him arbitration once that happens, but baseball insiders think it unlikely that Beltran will accept.  Players of Beltran's caliber typically decline arbitration in favor of becoming "Type A" free agents.  This status allows them to seek deals with other teams.

Arbitration Baseball Rules in Detail

Major league salary rules are complex and specify that in the usual course of events, if the Mets do offer Beltran the opportunity to arbitrate and he refuses, they receive something in return: the chance to have a first-round pick from his new team, assuming that Beltran's new team finished the season in the bottom half of the standings for major league baseball.  In that case, the Mets would receive a second-round pick from the team instead.  The Mets would normally also be entitled to a "sandwich pick," which happens as soon as the draft's first round picks are finalized. 

In Beltran's case, however, the Mets have already forfeited any draft pick compensation related to his departure from the team.  Beltran's 2004 contract ruled that possibility out.

Baseball-style rules are sometimes also used in franchise arbitration disputes.