The World Series is over; Now it’s time for MLB Free Agency
Who Receives a Qualifying Offer?
After the World Series concludes, teams across the league have 5 days to negotiate with players on their roster in regards too: who receives a qualifying offer (QO) and which players will have their options picked up.
Once a player is offered a QO, they will have ten days to decide whether or not to accept the offer, which could dramatically impact their MLB free agency standing that winter.
Players who believe they had a ‘down year’ could accept the offer and bet on themselves for another year with the same club, utilizing next year’s free-agent period as a way to sign a more lucrative contract when they do not have a QO attached to their name.
Any player who rejects the qualifying offer will then come with an asterisk, in that any opposing team who signs the player will have to forfeit some draft picks in the upcoming June Amateur Draft. This area gets complicated, as it is divided into tiers based on the financial standing of the signing team and whether the team is under the luxury tax; information can be found at the link here.
The qualifying offer for the 2020 season is $17.8 million dollars, which is down from last year’s value at $17.9 million. The value is based on the average on baseball’s 125 most paid players in the league.
So, who are some of the players who could receive a qualifying offer from their respective teams this year?
Well for starters, players traded midway through the 2019 season or players who have previously received an offer cannot be offered another QO. This would cross players like Hyun-Jin Ryu, Nicholas Castellanos, and Dallas Keuchel off the list.
MLB rumors: Yankees expected to pursue Gerrit Cole in free agency, but they might not be the favorites https://t.co/grbyviaPRu
— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) October 23, 2019
Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole, the most coveted starter during the 2019 free agency period, will most definitely receive an offer, which he will 100% decline. He will command a large financial sum to get his services and he will be seeking a lucrative long term deal, which he will 100% collect on. Look for deep-pocketed teams like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers to take a shot at the right-hander.
Pitchers Stephen Strasburg and Yu Darvish could find themselves receiving a QO if they choose to opt-out of their current contracts and dive headfirst into MLB free agency.
For Strasburg, there is potential that he could resign with the Nationals after having a dominant regular season and playoff run with the NL pennant winners. If he chooses to not resign with the Nats, look for him to receive and decline the offer in order to test the market for the most money possible.
This depends on how much money he asks for, as he may price himself out of Washington with contracts like Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin already on the roster, as well as free agent third baseman Anthony Rendon looking to cash in at approximately $30 million a season.
For Darvish, two up and down seasons with the Chicago Cubs could see the Japanese right-hander opting out of his contract to explore the market. The real question is whether he opts out or not instead of the QO, considering his family loves Chicago and the past few seasons haven’t really beefed up his stats for a long term contract.
If he opts out and receives a QO, he will most likely decline the offer because he would have made more money per his current contract, which players usually don’t like to do. I see Darvish not opting out of the contract.
Anthony Rendon will also be a free agent this upcoming season and will be one of the most coveted position players on the market. He will 100% receive a qualifying offer if he chooses to test the free-agent market, and he will also 100% decline the offer.
Rendon could return to the Nationals if Strasburg does indeed opt-out and leave the organization, but even with the draft pick compensation by his name, teams will still likely lineup around the block for Rendon’s services.
The deadline for players to accept qualifying offers is November 15, 2019.
Other players likely to receive a qualifying offer this season include Zack Wheeler, Josh Donaldson, Aroldis Chapman, and Madison Bumgarner.