All-Stars Ozuna, Ramos among arbitration-eligible players

MIAMI — A half-dozen Marlins, including All-Stars Marcell Ozuna and A.J. Ramos, are eligible for arbitration, and the organization faces a deadline at the end of the week to determine if they will be part of the club’s 2017 plans.

Miami must decide by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday whether to tender 1-year contracts to Ozuna, Ramos, shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, infielder Derek Dietrich and right-handers David Phelps and Tom Koehler.

All six are expected to be tendered. If no offer is extended, the player then becomes a free agent.

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Players tendered don’t technically have to sign a contract by the deadline, although that does happen on occasion. The tender basically guarantees the player a to-be-determined salary that will be decided before the exchange of salaries deadline in January.

The Marlins have a firm team policy where, if they don’t have a player signed by the exchange deadline, the salary will then be decided at an arbitration hearing.

Also, simply tendering a contract doesn’t mean the Marlins must retain the player. He could still be traded.

The Marlins, even after agreeing to terms with Edinson Volquez, remain in the market for pitching, and Ozuna and Hechavarria could still be dangled as trade pieces.

• Volquez deal allows Marlins to retain core

Generally, players with 3-6 years of MLB service time qualify for arbitration. After 6-plus years, …

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