I'm a casual fan, so as we gear up for an off-season of discussing who we should trade, who we should bring up, and who we should move around, I decided I needed something to help me keep it straight.  Since in my last life we didn't do anything without briefing slides, I thought, "I need a briefing slide."  So I made the following chart to help me keep track of who we have under contract, who is not eligible for arbitration, who has options left, etc. 

Feel free to comment and, should this prove useful enough, I'll try to keep it updated.  This is your...

[i] Estimated MLB service time on the first day of the 2011 season.  Format is Y.DDD; the last three digits are NOT a percentage.  The service time for 1st year MLB players (e.g., Argenis Diaz) are very estimated.     

[ii] Number of options remaining on the first day of the 2011 season, where known. 

[iii] Jason Jaramillo not included because I think we’ll skip directly to Tony Sanchez.

[iv] Generally, the chart lists the current player, the expected replacement, and the “replacement after next.”  There are some exceptions where the three players are just the three most competitive players for a position.  Things get particularly random with the starting pitchers.

[v] Player’s age in April, 2011 or their anticipated first year in the majors. 

[vi] A minor-league player’s expected level at the start of the season; however, a minor-league player may not spend the entire year at that level. 

[vii] The first year a minor league player is expected to play, not start, in the Major League; this might include some AAA time, like McClutch and Pedro.

[viii] Why not? If we are concerned that his ankle affects his mobility, doesn’t it make more sense to move him to first and keep Pedro at 3B?

[ix] However, if he is as good as billed, he could be playing in the majors this year.

[x] Yes, WTM lists him as a SS. But after looking at our 2B choices and comments on how 2B gets filled with “less athletic” players from other positions, it seems like D’Arnaud’s future is at 2B.

[xi] Diaz is 2 years younger than Ciriaco and they appear to be similar players.

[xii] We appear to have very little true depth at the corner outfield positions.