Under the old CBA, it would be based on if you were an type A or B free agent, based on Elias sports rankings. If I remember correctly, DH and 1B were lumped together, and it was based on the last 2 or 3 years of performance. Again, going by memory, a type A was like the top 10% and type B was the top 20% or something like that.
So in Kendrys case, I don't think he would have qualified.