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It's official: Josh Thole has qualified as a super-two player and will be eligible for arbitration for the 2013 season. Under Major League Baseball's collective bargaining agreement signed with the MLB Players Association before the 2012 season, the pool of players eligible for super-two status increased, and Thole has made the cut based on his service time in the big leagues between the 2009 and 2012 seasons.
After posting decent numbers at the plate in 2010 and 2011, Thole had a poor year with the bat in 2012, hitting just .234/.294/.290. That's just a .584 OPS and .257 wOBA, the latter of which ranks 44th among the 48 catchers with at least 200 plate appearances this season.
As a result, Thole will make considerably more than the major league minimum in 2013, which is not ideal for the Mets given their extremely limited budget for the season. If Thole bounces back to his 2010-2011 level of production at the plate, his higher salary will be more palatable, but another year like 2012 would make the increase sting.