Now that the Major League Baseball offseason is upon us, we shift into hot stove mode for the next few months. There are various important dates to remember this winter, beginning on Monday, when free agency kicks into full swing, officially.
2017-18 MLB important offseason dates
Here are some offseason events to add to your calendar:
Nov. 6: Free agency quiet period is over. After 5 p.m. ET, all free agents can sign with new teams.
Nov. 6: Deadline for teams to submit qualifying offers to outgoing free agents is at 5 p.m.; this year the qualifying offer is $17.4 million, the average of the top 125 salaries in 2017.
Nov. 7: Gold Glove Award winners announced.
Nov. 8: MLB Players Choice Award winners announced.
Nov. 9: Silver Slugger Award winners announced.
Nov. 13: Rookie of the Year winners announced.
Nov. 13-16: General managers meetings in Orlando, Fla.
Nov. 14: Manager of the Year winners announced.
Nov. 15: Cy Young Award winners announced.
Nov. 16: MVP winners announced.
Nov. 16: Deadline (5 p.m.) for free agents to accept or decline the qualifying offer.
Nov. 20: Deadline to set 40-man rosters in preparation of Rule 5 Draft.
Dec. 1: Deadline (8 p.m.) to tender contracts to players on the 40-man roster who are either arbitration eligible or have zero to three years of service time. Every once in a while there are notable players who don’t get tendered a contract, even if we might not have known it at the time.
Dec. 10-14: Winter meetings, this year held in Orlando, Fla.
Dec. 14: Rule 5 Draft, held at the winter meetings.
Jan. 12, 2018: Players and teams exchange salaries for players eligible for salary arbitration.
Feb. 1-20, 2018: Arbitration hearings.
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