Michael McKenry qualified for Super 2 arbitration eligibility, according to a report from the Associated Press today, an expected outcome given McKenry's service time to start the season.

McKenry has two years and 136 days of major league service time. The cutoff for Super 2-eligible players, or those who have at least two but less than three years of service time, was two years, 122 days, according to the AP, citing calculations from the players' association and the commissioner's office. This year, 28 players qualified.

McKenry, 28, spent the final two months of the season on the disabled list after surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. He hit .217/.262/.348 in 122 plate appearances spread across 41 games. Players earn service time while on either the 15-day or 60-day major league disabled list.

The Pirates will likely non-tender McKenry at the Dec. 2 deadline, making him a free agent. Russell Martin is under contract for one more year and Tony Sanchez, who made his major league debut this season, proved a capable backup.

The cutoff dropped from two years, 139 days in 2012. Players who have at least three years of service time are eligible for salary arbitration, a process where the team and the player each submit, and argue for, a one-year salary figure to a panel of arbitrators. The panel assigns the player one salary or the other. Usually, though, the player and his representation avoid arbitration by agreeing to a contract with the team, often in January, often at the midpoint of the two figures submitted. Players generally have three years of arbitration eligibility.

Super 2 players have a fourth. Super 2 players are those in the top 22 percent of players who have at least two years of service time but less than three full years, and have 86 days of service time this season. The idea behind this is to keep teams from stashing major league-ready players in the minors for contract reasons, creating a floating date where a team is "safe" that is tough to pin down. Now, however, teams reverse-engineer the formula and have a pretty good idea how long they have to wait to avoid making a player eligible for Super 2 arbitration.

First Published: March 24, 2016, 5:11 p.m.