Note: Mets Non Tender, Arbitration Players
If a player has not negotiated a contract and is in the fourth, fifth or sixth season of his career, he will either be offered a one-year salary by his team, or, depending on his salary demands, he will be offered salary arbitration, or he’ll be non-tendered, meaning he immediately becomes a free agent.
MLB teams have until December 12 to make these decisions regarding these specific type of players.
For the Mets, they must decide on the futures 
of Endy Chavez, Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman, Oliver Perez, Duaner Sanchez and Jorge Sosa.
…though i am not totally sure of how they’ll handle sosa, i think it’s a pretty safe bet they’ll offer contracts to the other five…
If a player agrees to arbitration, it means he will be on the team the following season - all that is in question is how much money he will receive.
The player is not eligible to be a free agent unless he is non-tendered, or plays through his sixth season.
For instance, through the first three seasons of his career, Heilman received the league minimum. He is eligible for salary arbitration for the first time during this off season. So, since the Mets will not cut him and make him a free agent, they will likely offer him a one-year salary, which he can either accept or decline, opting to have a court determine his salary instead. This process will repeat the following off season, and the one after that, making Heilman a free agent after 2010 - unless of course the Mets reach a long-term agreement that will keep him under contract before that.
