Midnight was the deadline to offer free agents arbitration, and in the AL at least not too many players got the offer. With the rule changes due the the CBA, this isn't as big a deal as in the past. A larger number of free agents won't be compensated, so their is no reason to offer those players arbitration anymore. And since all 30 clubs can negotiate without restrictions, there's no need to offer arbitration so you can keep talking.

So Barry Bonds isn't offered arbitration, since the Giants think he would accept and they'd be stuck with a bigger salary than they'd like to pay. Zito is offered arbitration since Oakland feels there is a low probability their Barry would accept, and Oakland wants the draft pick. Players have until Dec. 7 to accept the offer.

I would guess that most teams only offer arbitration if they think the player has a low risk of accepting. With the free agent market as inflated as it is, there's a good chance anyone going through the process will get a substantial sum of money.