Six major league baseball players were given qualifying offers before free agency began Sunday afternoon, including pitchers Trevor Bauer (Cincinnati Reds), Marcus Stroman (New York Mets) and Kevin Gausman (San Francisco Giants).
Position players DJ LeMahieu (New York Yankees), George Springer (Houston Astros) and J.T. Realmuto (Philadelphia Phillies) also received offers that will tie them to their current teams, if they accept the offers, on a one-year contract worth $18.9 million.
Players have 10 days to accept or reject the offer. If they reject it, they’ll become free agents, though the teams signing them will be required to give up draft compensation to do so.
Only those players who have never received a qualifying offer in their career can be offered one, which explains Marcell Ozuna did not get one this year. He was given one after the 2019 season while with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Some prominent players who were eligible for a qualifying offer but did not receive one include Astros outfielder Michael Brantley, Oakland Athletics infielder Marcus Semien, A’s closer Liam Hendriks and Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons. They’re all free agents without draft compensation attached to their signing with a new team.
Teams are free to sign anyone who has not been extended a qualifying offer. There are 181 free agents this offseason, according to the MLBPA.