NATIONAL LEAGUE.(team-by-team analyses of professional baseball clubs)

Arizona

CUT OR BE CUT: With C Kelly Stinnett unwilling to accept a hefty pay cut from $1.1 million, the team did not tender him a contract. Manager Bob Brenly sees Damian Miller catching 125-135 games, and Stinnett would have been an expensive backup. Rookies Rod Barajas and Ken Huckaby, who both played for Class AAA Tucson last season, are the leading contenders for backup.... It didn't seem the club needed another lefthanded-hitting outfielder, but free agent Midre Cummings could earn a platoon job in right field. At the very least he can provide a pinch-hitting complement to righthanded hitter Grog Colbrunn.

RIGHT FIELD ANALYSIS: This is the only unsettled spot. Danny Bautista seems assured of at least a platoon role. Batting .191 when he was acquired in June, the righthanded hitting Bautista hit .317 with a. 511 slugging percentage for the Diamondbacks. Bautista has a strong, though sometimes wild, arm, and he has enough speed to play center. Cummings, a journeyman who has become a pinch-hitting specialist with a .319 average, could platoon with Bautista. David Dellucci and Jason Conti, also lefties, would have to beat out Cummings to earn part of the job. --Ed Price

Atlanta

BURKETT STAYS: The team solidified its rotation when RHP John Burkett signed a one-year deal. But the bench and bullpen remained unsettled because OF Bobby Bonilla, 1B Wally Joyner and RHP Scott Kamieniecki did not accept the club's arbitration offers. The team can negotiate with each until January 8. Burkett will be the fourth or fifth starter, depending on how RHP John Smoltz is used. Burkett provided some stability as the fifth starter last season and also made nine relief appearances. He was more effective working in the rotation and finished with a 10-6 record and 4.90 ERA. ... The team sent Steve Sisco to Baltimore and received Jesse Garcia in a trade of minor league infielders. Garcia will add depth at shortstop and second base.

RIGHT FIELD ANALYSIS: The team is crossing its fingers that Brian Jordan is healthy. Coming off surgeries on both shoulders, Jordan will head rate the spring as a major question. If he remains injury free, he could be a significant offensive force. Because of Andres Galarraga's departure, Jordan likely will hit in the middle of the lineup, a position from which he produced a career-high 115 RBIs two seasons ago. Dave Martinez is the backup. --Bill Zack

Chicago