I know I've seen before, but if I have a guy in his final year of arb, is there an argument to keeping him for a final year in order to get some compensation for letting him go the following year?  Or am I missing something.

If you have a guy who you believe will be a type A or type B free agent after his final arb year and is likely to be signed, and you can afford his third year of arb, and he fills a spot on your roster, and you don't want to invest in him long-term, then arbing him a third time and letting him walk can be a good option for you.

What makes a player eligible for arbitration? 

Three full years of ML service. 

How many times can a guy be arb eligible?

Three, under normal circumstances.

Ive never had anyone I wanted to keep go through the process... so I dont want to blow it.  When will I get an option to sign them long term?

Posted by tecwrg on 9/9/2010 9:32:00 PM (view original):

You have the option to sign them LT once they're arb-eligible after season rollover and before arbitration day.

It's typically cheaper to arb them the first time then sign them to a LT contract in their second arb year.

Good point but in some cases it may be beneficial to sign them long term in their 3rd arb year even if it's not the cheapest way.

In many cases get to keep them longer. For instance, a player who is going to reach 85-90 OVR isn't going to resign after his contract is up. He is going for the cash in free agency. So if you arb them 2 years and then sign them for 5 years you at least get to keep them 7 years. If you sign them to a long term contract the first chance you get then you may only keep them for 5 or 6 years total.

Isn't there a chance that if you arb him and let him win both times, he still might not be willing to sign a longterm contract in that final arb year?