The deadline for players to accept the one-year, $15.3 million qualifying offer has come and gone, and history has played out exactly the same way as it has the last two seasons: with no player accepting the deal.
MLB qualifying offer deadline passes with no accepted deals
The 12 eligible players said “thanks, but no thanks” to the qualifying offers extended to them last week.
Dilip Vishwanat
This year, 12 players received qualifying offers from their respective teams, one fewer than in 2013. The full list is below except for outfielder Michael Cuddyer, who rejected the qualifying offer and signed a two-year deal with the New York Mets on Monday. The surprising signing means the Mets will lose the No. 15 overall pick in the upcoming draft.
- Melky Cabrera, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
- Nelson Cruz, DH/OF, Baltimore Orioles
- Francisco Liriano, P, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Russell Martin, C, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Victor Martinez, DH/1B, Detroit Tigers
- Hanley Ramirez, SS, Los Angeles Dodgers
- David Robertson, P, New York Yankees
- Pablo Sandoval, 3B, San Francisco Giants
- Ervin Santana, P, Atlanta Braves
- Max Scherzer, P, Detroit Tigers
- James Shields, P, Kansas City Royals
If a player had accepted the qualifying offer, he would have played in 2015 under the terms of the one-year contract mentioned above. Now that each player has rejected the QO, each is free to sign with any team in the league, including re-signing with the team he played for last season.
By extending the qualifying offer, each club that loses one of the 12 players to free agency will receive a compensatory draft pick at the end of the first round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft. Any team that signs a player who has been extended a qualifying offer will forfeit its first-round pick, unless it is one of 11 protected picks at the top of the draft. That list is normally limited to the teams with the 10 worst records in baseball, but the Houston Astros are also given an extra protected pick due to the failed signing of Brady Aiken last summer. If a team re-signs its own player, no changes will be made to the draft order.
MLB Free Agents
While many players cash in on the open market, a few have also found a slower market than expected due to league-wide reticence to losing draft picks. Kyle Lohse should have garnered several more millions than the three-year, $33 million he settled for with the Milwaukee Brewers in late March two winters ago. Shortstop Stephen Drew also reportedly regretted not signing his QO last winter, and eventually signed in mid-May for $4 million less than the offer was worth. Kendrys Morales suffered the same fate and signed an even smaller one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins in June. Both Drew and Morales turned in frustrating performances in 2014, perhaps due to their late starts to the season.
Only time will tell whether or not this year’s crop of players made the right choices in rejecting the one-year deals offered to them.
See More:
