The 13 free agents who received qualifying offers a week ago have declined, according to the MLBPA's official Twitter feed. In the two years since the new collective bargaining agreement was put in place, no free agent has accepted a one-year qualifying offer, this season valued at $14.1MM. Though some of the free agents may not find that high an average annual value in their next contracts, it was widely expected that the 13 players would turn down the offers in search of longer-term deals.
The 13 players and their former teams are listed below…
- Carlos Beltran, Cardinals
- Robinson Cano, Yankees
- Shin-Soo Choo, Reds
- Nelson Cruz, Rangers
- Stephen Drew, Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, Red Sox
- Curtis Granderson, Yankees
- Ubaldo Jimenez, Indians
- Hiroki Kuroda, Yankees
- Brian McCann, Braves
- Kendrys Morales, Mariners
- Mike Napoli, Red Sox
- Ervin Santana, Royals
If a qualifying offer free agent signs elsewhere, the player's former team will receive a compensatory draft pick between the first and second rounds of the 2014 amateur draft. A team that signs a qualifying offer free agent will forfeit its first round pick, though the teams with the 10 worst records in baseball last year (the Astros, Marlins, Cubs, White Sox, Twins, Mariners, Phillies, Rockies, Blue Jays and Mets) have protected first-rounders and would only have to give up a second-round pick for signing a Q.O. free agent.
