MLBTR released the updated estimate of this off-season’s Super Two date, which is 2.121 years of service time. If you’re unfamiliar with years of service time, that reads as two years and 121 days. If you’re unfamiliar with Super Two status, it means that anyone with 2.121 years or more, but less than three years of service time would be eligible for arbitration as a Super Two player, rather than being a league minimum player.
With this estimated cutoff, we can get a feel for who will be eligible for Super Two following the 2013 season. In previous years there have been guys who have been close to the deadline, and guys like Garrett Jones and Neil Walker have been eligible. This year the only person who is close is Michael McKenry. The backup catcher is estimated to finish the 2013 season with 2.136 years of service, nearly guaranteeing him for arbitration instead of a third league minimum year. I could see the Pirates holding onto McKenry, since the price would probably be under $1 M and he gives them catching depth (he has an option).
You can’t really project future years with the current year’s cut-off. Each year is the same. That said, the Pirates don’t have anyone who projects to be Super Two eligible following the 2014 season. The only situation to watch would be Gerrit Cole. Cole will have 111 days of service time at the end of this season, giving him 2.111 at the end of the 2015 season. He would be clear under the current cut-off, although we don’t know if the future cut-off will go down.
