The World Series is over and Major League Baseball officially shifts into the hot stove season on Monday, beginning with dozens of players hitting free agency the morning after the World Series ends. It’s a loaded free agent class highlighted by ace starting pitchers and a few impact position players.
MLB free agent class highlighted by David Price, Johnny Cueto and Jordan Zimmermann
Dozens of players are officially free agents and the MLB offseason has begun.
As of 9 a.m. ET on Monday these players are now free agents, headlined by a trio of aces -- Johnny Cueto, David Price and Jordan Zimmermann. Those three are all entering their age-30 season, and could all be headed for nine-figure contracts.
What makes this market so rich is that the trio will likely become a quartet in a few days, with Zack Greinke expected to opt out of the final three years and $71 million of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and become a free agent. But the deadline for Greinke to opt out isn't until Wednesday. As of Monday morning, he still technically isn't a free agent.
Chris Davis hit 47 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles in 2015 and has averaged 42 home runs per season for the last three years. Yoenis Cespedes slammed 35 home runs, including 17 in just two months with the New York Mets. Entering their own age-30 seasons, that power will be attractive on the free agent market.
Other position players of note to hit free agency are Jason Heyward of the St. Louis Cardinals, Justin Upton of the San Diego Padres and Ben Zobrist of the World Series champion Kansas City Royals.
For the cream of the free agent crop, including several mentioned above, their teams will extend to them a qualifying offer by Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline. The qualifying offer is a one-year contract at $15.8 million, the average of the top 125 major league salaries in 2015. It can only be offered to free agents who spent the entire year with their club, so for midseason acquisitions like Price, Cueto and Zobrist, to name a few, they cannot receive a qualifying offer.
For players who do receive the qualifying offer, they will have one week to accept or decline the deal, by 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13. In the previous three offseasons under this system, all 34 players extended the qualifying offer have declined, instead opting for a potentially more lucrative deal on the open market. Should a player decline the qualifying offer then sign with a new team, his old team receives a supplemental draft pick in 2016 between the first and second rounds, while the signing team forfeits their top draft selection, though the top 10 picks are protected.
While Monday does mark the beginning of free agency for these dozens of players, this week is officially a “quiet period” for MLB. Players are not allowed to sign a contract with a new team in the first five days, until 11:59 p.m. on Friday night. Teams and players can talk between now and then, but no contracts are allowed between new parties until the quiet period is over.
Meanwhile, players are free to sign with their old teams at any time, including during the quiet period.
Enjoy the hot stove season, which is now officially lit.
* * *
SB Nation presents: All that’s happened with the Dodgers during Vin Scully’s tenure
See More:
