Wednesday was the deadline for the 14 free agents who received a qualifying offer to either accept or reject the one-year, $18.4 million contract. The qualifying offer is set at the average of the top 125 salaries in baseball, and players who accept it return to their team on that one-year deal, and players who reject it are tied to draft pick compensation.
Here are the 14 free agents who received the qualifying offer this year. Only six free agents received it last offseason, and the 14 are the most since a record 20 free agents received the qualifying offer in 2015-16.
- 1B Brandon Belt, Giants
- OF Nick Castellanos, Reds
- OF Michael Conforto, Mets
- SS Carlos Correa, Astros
- 1B Freddie Freeman, Braves
- RHP Raisel Iglesias, Angels
- LHP Robbie Ray, Blue Jays
- LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox
- SS Corey Seager, Dodgers
- IF Marcus Semien, Blue Jays
- SS Trevor Story, Rockies
- RHP Noah Syndergaard, Mets
- UT Chris Taylor, Dodgers
- RHP Justin Verlander, Astros
Free agents who were traded at midseason (like Kris Bryant, Nelson Cruz, and Max Scherzer) are not eligible to receive the qualifying offer, ditto for the free agents who have received a qualifying offer previously (like Kevin Gausman and Marcus Stroman). If you're curious why a big name free agent didn't receive the qualifying offer, he probably falls into one of those two buckets.
As noted, the deadline to accept or reject the qualifying offer was Wednesday, Nov. 17. Here are the qualifying offer decisions for this year's 14 free agents as announced by each team.
Accepted qualifying offer
Despite indications the two sides would attempt to work out a new multi-year contract, Belt accepted the qualifying offer and will remain with the Giants. There is no free agent compensation when a player accepts the qualifying offer, so San Francisco will neither receive nor forfeit a draft pick. Belt is back with the Giants on the one-year, $18.4 million contract, and the two sides could still work out a longer contract prior to Opening Day. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Belt the No. 25 free agent on the market.
Signed with another team
Earlier this week Rodriguez signed a five-year, $77 million pact with the Tigers. He functionally declined the qualifying offer, so the Red Sox will receive a draft pick after the first round as compensation, and the Tigers will forfeit their third highest draft pick because they received revenue sharing money in 2021. Rodriguez, 28, will not be eligible to receive the qualifying offer again the rest of his career. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Rodriguez the No. 19 free agent on the market.
Similar to Rodriguez, Syndergaard signed a one-year, $21 million contract with the Angels earlier this week. He effectively declined the qualifying offer and the Mets will receive a draft pick prior to the third round as compensation. The Angels, meanwhile, will forfeit their second highest draft pick plus $500,000 in international bonus money to sign Syndergaard. He will not be eligible to receive the qualifying offer the rest of his career. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Syndergaard the No. 18 free agent on the market.
Rejected qualifying offer
Castellanos rejected the qualifying offer after opting out of the final two years and $34 million remaining on his contract. He was always a lock to reject it. No chance Castellanos would opt out of $34 million only to turn around and take the $18.4 million qualifying offer. The Reds will receive a compensation draft pick before the third round if Castellanos signs a deal worth less than $50 million with another team, and a compensation draft pick after the first round if he signs a contract worth $50 million or more. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Castellanos the No. 14 free agent on the market.
Conforto has indeed declined the qualifying offer. He appeared to be a candidate to accept it given his down, injury-interrupted season, but some early offseason canvasing by agent Scott Boras presumably revealed enough interest in Conforto to turn down the qualifying offer. The Mets will receive a compensation draft pick before the third round if Conforto signs a deal worth less than $50 million, and a compensation draft pick after the first round if he signs a contract worth at least $50 million. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Conforto the No. 23 free agent on the market.
No surprise here, as Correa is coming off possibly the best season of his career. He's fresh off winning the AL platinum glove, awarded to the single best defensive player in each league. The two-time All-Star also had a pretty prolific offensive season as well, posting a 131 OPS+ with 34 doubles and 26 homers. Entering his age-27 season as a stellar offensive and defensive player at a premium position, he's in for a monster payday. The Astros will receive a compensation draft pick after the first round when Correa inevitably signs a contract worth at least $50 million. As long as he signs with another team, that is. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Correa the No. 1 free agent on the market.
As expected, Freeman has rejected the qualifying offer. The 2020 NL MVP seems likely to re-sign with the Braves -- rejecting the qualifying offer does not mean he is ineligible to return to the Braves, it should be noted -- though if he signs with another team, Atlanta now knows they will receive a compensation draft pick after the first round when he inevitably signed a contract worth more than $50 million. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Freeman the No. 5 free agent on the market.
Iglesias has indeed turned down the Angels' qualifying offer. Iglesias, who turns 32 in January, is coming off a 2021 season in which he posted a 2.57 ERA and a sparkling 8.58 K/BB ratio in 70 innings for the Angels. He also converted 34 of 39 save opportunities. For his career, Iglesias owns a strong ERA+ of 142. The Angels will receive a compensation draft pick before the third round if Iglesias signs a deal worth less than $50 million with another team, and a compensation draft pick after the first round if he signs a contract worth at least $50 million. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Iglesias the No. 21 free agent on the market.
As expected, Ray has rejected the qualifying offer and will seek a lucrative long-term contract as a free agent. The Blue Jays will receive a compensation draft pick after the first round when Ray signs a contract worth more than $50 million, but only if he signs with another team. Returning to Toronto would result in no compensation. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Ray the No. 6 free agent on the market.
As expected, Seager has declined the qualifying offer. Seager has a nine-figure contract coming his way this offseason even while attached to draft pick compensation. Because the Dodgers paid luxury tax this season, they will only receive a compensation draft pick after the fourth round should Seager sign elsewhere, regardless of contract size. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Seager the No. 2 free agent on the market.
Free agency the first time around was bad timing for Semien. His career year was in 2019 and then he had a rough 2020 during the pandemic-shortened season. It forced him to take a one-year deal and move positions. His response was to play like it was 2019 all over again in 2021, surely setting himself up for a big, long-term contract this time around. As such, it's no surprise at all that he declined the qualifying offer. The Blue Jays will receive a compensation draft pick before the third round if Semien signs a deal worth less than $50 million with another team, and a compensation draft pick after the first round if he signs a contract worth at least $50 million. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Semien the No. 4 free agent on the market.
Story not surprisingly turned down the Rockies' qualifying offer and hits the market as part of a deep shortstop class. His underlying indicators at the plate remain strong, particularly by the standards of his position, but his troublesome throwing elbow could be a source of hesitation for some teams. That said, he's a fine consolation prize for teams missing out on Correa and Seager. Colorado will receive a compensation draft pick before the third round if Story signs a deal worth less than $50 million with another team, and a compensation draft pick after the first round if he signs a contract worth at least $50 million. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Story the No. 11 free agent on the market.
Taylor has declined the qualifying offer, which is not a surprise given his offensive production and ability to play just about anywhere on the field. Similar to Seager, the Dodgers will only receive a compensation draft pick after the fourth round should Taylor sign elsewhere regardless of contract size because they paid luxury tax this year. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Taylor the No. 12 free agent on the market.
There was some thought Verlander would accept the qualifying after making just one start the last two years because of Tommy John surgery, but that did not happen. Verlander declined the qualifying offer. However, his first career foray into free agency did not last long. Verlander will be returning to the Houston Astros. Verlander reached an agreement on a one-year deal with Houston worth $25 million, with a player option for a second year. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Verlander the No. 17 free agent on the market.
