We’re a few days from the beginning of the offseason, with the World Series concluding no later than Saturday. One of the first orders of business is the qualifying offer, which will have to be issued within five days of the beginning of the offseason.
A player is eligible for a qualifying offer if they have never received one before and spent the entire season with the same club. The value of the QO changes annually, calculated by taking the average salary of the 125 highest-paid players in the league. That means it generally rises as salaries increase over time, with this year’s QO expected to land around $20.5MM. If a player receives and rejects a qualifying offer, he becomes a free agent. If he then signs elsewhere, the signing team is subject to draft pick forfeiture and possibly other penalties, while their previous club receives draft pick compensation.
Yesterday, MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald looked at which pitchers were potential QO recipients. Today, we’ll take a look at the offensive class.
No-Doubters
- Cody Bellinger (Cubs)
- Matt Chapman (Blue Jays)
- Shohei Ohtani (Angels)
This trio is well on its way to nine-figure deals. Ohtani should set the all-time guarantee record, while Bellinger could surpass $200MM. Chapman had a rough second half offensively, which drops him well behind the top two hitters in the class. There’s virtually no chance he’d accept the QO, though, as his plus glove and slightly above-average offense gives him a shot at five or six years.
Likely Recipient
- Teoscar Hernández (Mariners)
Hernández had a middling season in Seattle, hitting .258/.305/.435 through 676 trips to the plate. While he connected on 26 home runs, he did so with his lowest batting average and on-base percentage since his 2020 breakout with the Blue Jays. Hernández helped carry the Mariner lineup in June and August but was a well below-average player in every other month.
The down year may knock the 31-year-old from an absolute lock to reject the QO to “merely” very likely to do so. He hit .283/.333/.519 in over 1300 plate appearances between 2020-22. Teams can point to this year’s home/road splits as a potential factor in Hernández’s offensive downturn. He hit only .217/.263/.380 at Seattle’s pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park while running a typical .295/.344/.486 line on the road. Perhaps that’s an indicator he’s not a great fit for the Mariners specifically, but it also boosts his chances of declining a QO to land a multi-year deal elsewhere.
Corner outfielders like Avisaíl García and Kyle Schwarber have found four-year guarantees with less consistent career track records than Hernández has compiled. While neither of those players were attached to draft compensation, Hernández could find a four-year pact even with the QO — particularly in a free agent class so light on impact bats.
Possible Candidates
- Mitch Garver (Rangers)
Entertaining a qualifying offer for Garver would have seemed absurd a few months ago. He’d been limited to 54 games in 2022, working mostly as a designated hitter, by a flexor injury that eventually required season-ending surgery. Garver lost another six weeks to a left knee sprain early this year. By the time he returned, Jonah Heim had cemented himself as an All-Star catcher.
That left Garver as a high-quality backup and potential DH. Since returning from the knee injury, he has mashed his way to the middle of a fearsome Texas lineup. Garver hit 17 homers in 81 regular season games after his activation, posting a .271/.369/.495 line. He stepped in behind the plate while Heim was out with a wrist injury, then moved seamlessly back to DH upon the latter’s return. Garver has connected on three more homers in 51 postseason plate appearances, running a .244/.333/.489 mark in October.
This kind of offense isn’t out of nowhere. Garver hit 31 homers in 93 games for the Twins in 2019. He’s a career .252/.342/.483 hitter. When healthy, he’s a very good offensive player. He’s certainly one of the best hitting catchers in the league. The health caveat has been important, though, as he has only once topped 100 games in a season. Garver has spent time on the injured list every year since 2019 and has caught just 354 innings over the last two seasons. He’ll turn 33 in January.
Is Garver capable of holding up as a team’s #1 catcher? That’s debatable. He wouldn’t need to do that for Texas, as he could remain in the DH/#2 catcher role alongside Heim if the Rangers retain him. There’s a good chance he’d accept a QO if offered — he has never made more than $3.9MM in a season — but the Rangers run lofty payrolls and don’t have many other key free agents. Texas showed a (regrettable in hindsight) willingness to gamble on a qualifying offer for Martín Pérez after a strong platform year in 2022. They could do the same with Garver.
- Rhys Hoskins (Phillies)
Hoskins lost the entire 2023 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during Spring Training. He had progressed to taking batting practice and running the bases in recent weeks, leaving open the possibility for a return as a DH had the Phillies made the World Series.
With Philadelphia coming up a game short, the ’23 campaign goes down as a complete lost year. Heading into the spring, Hoskins projected as one of the best hitters in the upcoming free agent class. He’s a consistent 25-30 homer bat who takes plenty of walks. Hoskins is a career .242/.353/.492 hitter. Even in the absence of defensive or baserunning value, he tends to accrue two to three wins above replacement annually.
Since his profile isn’t built on athleticism, Hoskins may well go into 2024 the same player he was expected to be six months ago. He may still be looking for a one-year deal that allows him to retest the market after a stronger platform season, when he’d be entering his age-31 campaign.
A qualifying offer could be mutually beneficial. Hoskins would be able to play out his rebound year with the only organization he has ever known, while Philadelphia would retain a middle-of-the-order presence without long-term downside. The biggest wild card may be Bryce Harper’s positional future. He played DH and first base after undergoing Tommy John surgery last November. If the Phils are comfortable with his arm back in right field, retaining Hoskins at first and pushing Kyle Schwarber to DH is reasonable.
- J.D. Martinez (Dodgers)
While Martinez feels like a player who should have received a qualifying offer at some point in his career, he has not. A midseason trade rendered him ineligible before his free agent trip in 2018. The Red Sox opted against the QO when he hit free agency last offseason. He signed a one-year, $10MM pact to reunite with hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc in Los Angeles.
Martinez turned in his best offensive season since 2019. He popped 33 homers in 479 plate appearances, posting a .271/.321/.572 slash. A career-high 31.1% strikeout rate is a little alarming, but it’s not all that important so long as Martinez is hitting for the kind of power he did this past season. He made hard contact (a batted ball at 95+ MPH) on 55.1% of his balls in play. That’s his highest mark of the Statcast era and a 98th percentile figure in MLB.
The Dodgers could certainly entertain the qualifying offer. They have less than $100MM in salary commitments for 2024. Given their prior spending habits, they have as much short-term payroll space as any team. If Martinez replicated his ’23 production, he’d easily be worth a $20.5MM investment for one season.
In most years, this would be a fairly easy call for L.A. Complicating matters this particular winter: Ohtani’s presence. The Dodgers are expected to be a key suitor for the likely AL MVP. Martinez made all of one start in left field during his age-35 season. Ohtani’s free agency will carry beyond the deadline for the Dodgers to decide whether to issue Martinez a QO (and past his allotted five-day window to decide whether to accept if offered). A player who accepts a QO receives automatic no-trade rights until June 15 of the following season.
If Martinez accepts, the Dodgers are either committed to playing him in left field on most days or (less likely) out of the Ohtani mix. They may not want to risk limiting their flexibility within the first week of the offseason.
- Jorge Soler (Marlins)
Soler is very likely to decline a $13MM player option. The right-handed slugger will head back to free agency after a strong season in Miami. Soler hit .250/.341/.512 while blasting 36 home runs across 580 trips to the plate. He walked at a strong 11.4% clip while striking out at a manageable 24.3% rate.
The 2023 version of Soler is a middle-of-the-order power presence. He has demonstrated that ability in spurts throughout his career, including a 48-homer showing in Kansas City five seasons back and a monster second half to help the Braves to a championship in 2021. He’s not a consistent impact bat, though. Between 2020-22, he ran a middling .219/.312/.425 line in over 1000 plate appearances. For a well below-average corner outfielder who is best suited as a designated hitter, league average offense won’t cut it. Soler was only marginally above replacement level over that three-year stretch overall.
A player’s platform year performance is the biggest factor in whether he receives a qualifying offer. Soler’s 2023 campaign would be good enough to warrant it on many teams. Are the Marlins one of them? Miami would be hard-pressed to find consistent power production if they let him walk. At the same time, they’re an organization that typically runs payrolls below $100MM. Soler accepting a QO would be a legitimate possibility. Miami may not want to risk tying up a fifth of its player budget to a DH with an up-and-down track record.
Long Shots
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (D-Backs)
Acquired alongside Gabriel Moreno in the Daulton Varsho trade, Gurriel had a solid season in Arizona. He hit a career-high 24 homers with a .261/.309/.463 slash in 592 plate appearances. He was a first-time All-Star, largely on the strength of an otherworldly performance in May. Gurriel went ice cold midseason but rebounded with a .291/.338/.497 showing from the start of August through the regular season’s conclusion. He hasn’t contributed much offensively in Arizona’s World Series run.
Heading into his age-30 season, the Cuba native has a case for a solid multi-year deal. He’s a good contact hitter with 20+ homer power but middling walk rates. After years of inconsistent defensive production, he has played strong left field defense in the desert. Gurriel is a good player, although a salary in excess of $20MM is probably beyond Arizona’s taste.
- Kevin Kiermaier (Blue Jays)
Shortly before the Gurriel trade, the Jays signed Kiermaier to a one-year, $9MM deal. Their career division rival turned in a strong season in Toronto, pairing league average offense with sublime defense. He hit .265/.322/.419 over 408 trips to the plate. In just under 1000 innings in center field, Kiermaier rated anywhere between 12 and 18 runs above average by measure of Statcast and Defensive Runs Saved.
That certainly earns him a raise relative to his last free agent trip, when Kiermaier was coming off a platform year cut short by hip surgery. Potentially more than doubling his salary by issuing the QO seems like a bridge too far, however. Kiermaier turns 34 in April and has a lengthy injury history. Committing over $20MM for one season would be a bet on him staying healthy all year.
Ineligible
- Josh Bell (Marlins)
- Brandon Belt (Blue Jays)
- Jeimer Candelario (Cubs)
- Michael Conforto (Giants)
- Justin Turner (Red Sox)
Bell and Candelario changed teams midseason, rendering them ineligible for the QO. Belt, Conforto and Turner have all previously received the offer. Of this group, only Candelario and perhaps Turner would likely have gotten a QO even if they were eligible.
Radical thought (although it’s almost certainly unfair). What are the chances of a Matt Chapman contract turning into a Josh Donaldson one?
Chapman is 7 years younger and far better defensively. Donaldson’s main value was with his bat, which hitting usually ages worse than fielding for corner IFs.
I’ve got a radical thought. With the new baseball league in Dubai is there any chance one of those teams gives Ohtani $1,000,000,000? Some crazy money being thrown at athletes in the Middle East past few years
Shohei wants to win the World Series. He will have enough money whatever contract he secures. The best team, not the money, will win Ohtani.
Are those Dubai contracts guaranteed, even if the league goes belly-up after a couple of years? If not, he’d be better off staying in MLB even if money was the only factor.
Also, don’t forget that he’s already had to learn English (albeit it’s a required foreign language in Japanese schools). Does he really want to find himself needing to learn Arabic or whatever as well?
Here’s a radical thought. What if the new league in Dubai offers Ohtani a billion dollars? Lots of money been thrown at athletes in that part of the world lately
Radical thought (although it’s almost certainly unlikely). What are the chances of the Angels declining to QO Ohtani as a showing of goodwill and to maybe make him more amenable to staying?
Zero. If the player wants to stay there is no suppression in earnings from the QO. More to the point, angels chance of re-signing him are as close to zero as can be. He’s made it very clear that he wants to win and compete in the postseason.
After depleting their tradable prospects in an attempt to convince shohei they could make the postseason, they threw the baby out with the bathwater by the waiver process.
He’s headed out. Take the comp pick and move along.
QO absolutely suppresses his earnings regardless of whether he wants to stay or not.
And with the injury I could definitely see them re-upping him with opt outs after 2 and 3 years for when he’s not injured anymore.
For many players, the QO suppresses the number of teams bidding, which suppresses the contract. Ohtani won’t be one of them. His injury may limit the suitors. His expected contract will keep many away. The QO won’t be a factor.
The QO won’t be a factor for Kershaw either because he’s not signing elsewhere.
@GA, how exactly did he “make it very clear”??? He made a status quo statement in reference to the WBC during the WBC, the notion that it applies in any way to MLB is pure speculation.
And the notion that there is zero chance is again utterly false. He was not drafted by Angels in the first place, as an international free agent he chose to sign with them. So you are speculating he dies not want to sign with a team he has already wanted to sign with by a status quo statement that was not even in reference to MLB play. Sounds questionable, no?
Exactly! Ohtani doesn’t want out. So why not decline to extend the QO and stop viewing each other as enemies so you can come to terms on a contract that both team and player are not only ok with, but actually like?
@thelegendary Baseball is a business and a QO doesn’t affect him in any way shape or form. Yanks, Dodgers or Rangers will nap him.
But what about the Dodgers not QOing Kershaw? Is baseball not a business for them?
Kershaw made it very clear he wanted to play for LA, or, retire and play for nobody. There was never a question of him going elsewhere, and, he asked for time to figure out whether he wanted to continue playing.
Very different situation.
@GASoxFan Extending the QO doesn’t mean he doesn’t have time to figure out whether he wants to continue playing Einstein. Most players who recieve QO’s take longer than 10 days to sign their next contract. Kershaw doesn’t HAVE to accept the QO. If he declines it he can take as long as he wants to decide whether or not he wants to continue playing.
Wondering whether the guy almost certainly guaranteed to get the largest contract in baseball history would receive a qualifying offer is pretty out there.
With how much money teams are going to have to pony up to have a shot signing him, the loss of the pick isn’t going to be what determines whether or not they make a huge offer or not.
Just applying the same logic to him this site is applying to Kershaw is all.
That’s the problem tho harambe. The logic of Kershaw’s situation and the logic of ohtani’s situation are fundamentally different. Apples to oranges. The Kershaw predictions are based on actual precedents and a set of parameters for his contract decisions that are widely known and confirmed. Right now nobody knows ohtani’s parameters for sure except ohtani and his agent but one can reasonably deduce that the reasons for Kershaw’s approach do not apply to him. Tldr; ohtani is not Kershaw so Kershaw logic doesn’t apply.
How is it different? Both are “the man” on their team. You don’t disrespect “the man.”
Literally every other team gives a “the man” a qo in this type of situation including the dodgers for non-kershaw “the men.” Kershaw is the exception not the rule. Are you trolling or just extremely hung up in abstractions and semantics?
Why is Kershaw the exception? The QO is just a formality anyway. Extending it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have time to decide if he wants to play next year so don’t even try saying that.
Well Ohtan is a 28 year old still in his prime “the man”. Kershaw is a 35 year old nearing twighlight of his career “the man”. The 2 are absolutely different as far as likely quality years they have left to offer.
Kershaw is older and the LAD made the decision that while wanting him back, they weren’t going to pay him that much to stay. The QO was above their comfort zone, and they were fairly certain he wasn’t signing elsewhere. Neither applies to Ohtani.
@Tigers3232 I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m saying that isn’t relevant here.
How is it not relevant it is reality. How is reality not relevant??
2 + 2 = 4 is reality. Would you say it is relevant to this discussion?
Radical thought: I like the mocking…not too harsh.
Angels would be foolish and as owner – if a GM did that – they should be fired unless prior arrangements were made holding ohtani to a new contract
Why? The Dodgers did it with Kershaw. The Angels only get a 4th/5th round sandwich pick from the QO anyway.
Again, Kershaw vs Ohtani are bad comps.
Kershaw was a dodgers-only legend, who clearly and unequivocally expressed a desire to play for the dodgers and only the dodgers, and retire a dodger, as a one-team-career player.
The only question with Kershaw was would he retire, or, would he return.
Ohtani is the opposite. He has no attachment to the Angels, and, has stated he wants to go where he can win. He has no goal stated of retiring an angel or playing his whole career there. If he has, cite to it.
A sandwich pick is still better than no return at all if he signs elsewhere. Failing to give ohtani a qo only helps him get the biggest bag and to make the angels a laughingstock. There is absolutely no evidence that it would help the angels sign him back and they absolutely will give the qo.
@GA, Ohtani never stated he wanted to go where he can win. You might want to look up a video of the interview or an article quting what he said during WBC. He said exactly what a player should say in that situation and it was in regards to the WBC. It was in no way a testament to his feelings towards the Angels or MLB.
Ignore the WBC, look at the video during the Home Run Derby 2023 with his interpreter – “It sucks to lose. He wants to win, and that feeling gets stronger every year. It sucks losing.”
I don’t think he was talking about it sucking losing when winning the WBC for Japan. And the only other place he’s been playing is the Angels, therefore…. only one team it can mean.
Video embedded in this article:
sportstalkatl.com/braves-shohei-ohtani-wants-to-pl…
I’m missing where he says anything negative about the Angels(he doesnt). Again that is a status quo statement. Did you expect him to talk about $ instead of winning?? He said exactly what he’s supposed to say as he often does.
youtu.be/fUgUCEnqGAM?si=2r_9Da3xT-HCVi-8
There’s an interview from WBC, in that one he refers to Trout as the greatest hitter, again status quo. The other interview I mentioned, he was actually talking about having fun winning. Again he was saying just what he should.
The gut has led MLB in endorsement $ the past 2 seasons, he’s obviously been taught on how to deal with the media and does so very well. He’s not going to tip his hand and say anything other than what he should, which is meaningless in regards to where he ll end up playing.
Regardless of where the pick is the fact the team gets something is what is relevant. A QO is merely a formality for a player such as Ohtani. The Dodgers on the other hand although they seem to have every intention of bringing Kershaw back might not want $20M AAV. I could see Dodgers looking to sign him to a back loaded multi yr deal with lower AAV this season. If they miss on signing Ohtani, they ll almost certainly be eyeing getting under luxury tax to reset penalty.
QO is a formality for a player like Kershaw too.
The QO feels like a steep price to pay for Hoskins.. He’s been in the MLB since 2017 and has a career WAR of 11.
How much you bench Idosteroids?
QO definitely a steep price for Hoskins ans would put PHI in bad position if he were to take it. They have a glut of good bats who are bad defensively without him, he would just compound the problem.
If they did not have Schwarber and Castellanos, a QO would be less risky for them. But with current roster it seems way too risky.
They could put him in LF and sign Carlos Santana to play 1B
Why would want Hoskins in LF?? They already have a bad LF who has a better bat in Schwarber. They also have a 2nd bad OF in RF with a better bat. Both Schwarber and Castellanos cost $20M not $20.5 which is QO. How would it benefit them to pay more for a worse bat and not in any way address their defensive woes if Hoskins were to accept QO. He is just a very bad fit for PHI at this point especially for what a QO costs.
As for Santana, that would not be that bad of an idea to sign him and let Hoskins walk. They would upgrade defensively at 1B and upgrade defensively if OF getting Harper back out there. Then they’d just have to hope no one hits to one corner of the OF. Which would b wherever Castellanos and Schwarber would b in the game committing degradation to the very meaning of defense.
Radical thought (although I find it highly likely). What if we are living in a simulation and everything from our lives to the performance of baseball players is simply just code in a massive computer run by an alien race?
I love The Why Files as well…. Go Hecklefish!
Radical thought: More likely than you expect.
Literally zero chance the Phillies offer a qualifying offer to Rhys. He will sign for less on a 1 year deal, so he’s basically a lock to accept it. No 1 is signing him for more than the QO and also lose a draft pick. Only way Phillies bring him back is if they can trade Castellanos (obviously have to eat $) or Schwarber who has more value.
Everyone said that about Bellinger, too.
@Holden, Bellinger is a different situation. LAD looked to be trying to get under luxury tax threshold. With PHI they already have a few players who have valuable bats who should not be on field defensively. They can’t risk Hoskins taking the QO
If the Phillies qualify Hoskins, he most likely accepts. Does Bryce then move back to OF? Or does Schwarber? I think that money would be better used on a starting pitcher, whether that’s resigning Nola or getting someone else. Phillies have enough DH/1st base/bad outfielder types.
Aaron Hicks is a fair comparison defensively Metric-wise to Harper. Both players fall into a category of not a ton of range but a well above average arm pre surgery. Hicks came back from TJS even stronger statcast-wise post surgery. It will be interesting to see what Philly does.
Of the players eligible on this list, Hernandez with Seattle is guy saw the most this past season and he’s got to be about the worst defensive RF seen in a long time. Bad reads, slow to react, at times just seemed to not care. Throws to wrong base. Everything, except arm strength part defensively is bad, but that part doesn’t matter if consistently throw the ball to the wrong place and add to that? low BB%, low OBP percentage? I see giving him a large contract as a big throwaway of cash.
Radical thought (although it’s almost certainly unfair). I think that you are all AI bots, whose sole purpose is to collect and collate data from people who visit so that it can be sold to advertising companies.
Radical thought: To be online is to give away your content for free–and that’s certainly unfair,
Straight up, if I’m the Blue Jays, I tell the press that I hope Matt Chapman rejects the QO. He is not worth $20 million
I’d rather they QO Kiermaier instead of Chapman. Would much rather have Kiermaier accept it at that number than risk locking that much into Chapman for another year.
Marlins best have their finances in order if they want to keep their window open. I think solor might take the 20 mil for a season. If fish can get him for that and still pursue bell- that is a good offseason for them
Teoscar yea but don’t see any of the other nonlocks getting one. Hoskins is too streaky for a DH only and Philly has 2 DH in the OF already
There is no chance the Rangers put a QO on Garver. They’re payroll is going to be sky high next year already, and they have much bigger needs than DH.
I don’t get the Ohtani to Dodgers vibe. Year in and out they already win a lot and draw well attendance wise. Can’t see his presence getting them to WS. He was (still is?) the main cog on a team with a losing culture. Go the Martinez route.
I’d much rather have Ohtani as my DH over JD. And in 2025 you also get a top of rotation arm. Attendance is irrelevant with Ohtani, he is a cash cow marketing wise and will bring in a ton of international TV $. For the foreseeable future at least his contract will pay for itself and then some.
Correction: in 2025, you MAY get a top of rotation arm. This was his 2nd TJ. Its not a sure thing he will be the same after recovery.
There’s a strong likelihood he comes back and is still a very valuable pitcher. Regardless he is a marketing departments dream and much of his contract is going to pay itself regardless. And if he continues to perform it ll likely completely pay itself and then some.
Everyone is always hung up on half of the game which is performance. The other half which is the business of the game is absolutely crucial to how front offices run their business and make roster decisions.
What makes Ohtani valuable to marketing IS his performance. Take away his performance and the marketability dwindles.
There have been numerous NPB players who come over, and don’t perform. I wouldnt call them a boon to the business side of the game.
For the next contract to pay for itself Ohtani needs to return and perform at least to near all-star levels for several years. Should he return and pitch to a 5.xx era, and hit 15hr power, and never really regain results beyond that, the contract will be a bust and little value will come from all this touted marketing.
So, you’re asking, will a now going on 2x TJ player need a third, and, what will you get/for how long. Then bid accordingly.
Obviously if he doesn’t perform it dwindles. But at this point he performed enough that he ll be extremely marketable for easily the next 2 to 3 years. And if he continues to perform that just keeps projecting outward.
And what NPB players have came over and performed like Ohtani?? How many have won a MVP or been in talks of being a MVP?? How many had the most endorsement income of any player for even 1 season let alone 2 consecutive 2 seasons?? Cone on now you are just trying to deflect from reality.
And what makes you think he’s only going to hit 15 HRs due to Tommy John surgery?? Harper missed a huge chunk of season and easily eclipsed that. Yes there is some risk from the pitching side returning from TJS but from a hitting aspect the risk really isn’t there.
Ask Trevor Story. Or, maybe Zach Cozart.
Point is, until you’re back, you don’t know how its going to go. That’s all.
As for marketability, I stand by the whole if you don’t perform, your marketability fades.
You want an example of high end mlb talent who lost it? Grady Sizemore lost his ability virtually overnight, and, his marketability followed. Nobody cared what he used to be. Sports is all about here and now, until you end up doing AARP commercials and selling Colonial Penn life insurance banking on your glories of yesteryear.
Are you kidding?? Cozart?? He was never all that good to begin with. And Story actually cam back and was hitting quite well on rehab assignment. His issue seems more of getting back in tune with MLB level pitching. Mind you the guy had no Spring Training.
And last I checked neither had reach the heights of performance Ohtani has just at the plate alone.
It seems pretty clear you just want to try diminish Ohtani. Regardless he’s getting paid and he is going to be the most marketable player in the game for a 3rd consecutive year next season(hes already signed some endorsement deals, so save the attempts at diminishing that one….).
Have a good evening, I’m done with this conversation
My prediction on who receives a QO
No-doubts: all yes
Teoscar Hernandez: yes
Mitch Garver: yes
Rhys Hoskins: no
JD Martinez: no
Jorge Soler: yes
Lourdes Gurriel Jr: no
Kevin Kiermaier: no
@CBA, well the Rangers no doubt will look to keep Garver a QO seems a long shot. Realmuto will be making $23.8M and Perez $20M. Thise are the top paid catchers who have hit free agency. Garver for $20.5M is pretty steep.
Those catchers got multi year deals. You don’t believe they would’ve gotten more for a single season? Garver is also more of a DH which changes the math. If the giants were willing to QO Joc then Garver is in consideration
I wouldn’t QO Soler. He might take it and then pull off an Avi Garcia for 2024.
Both are too streaky to commit more than a year or mid aav deal.
I guess I’m confused on a point: if a team wants to re-sign a player, does that team issue the QO or not ?? I.e. If Phills want Rhys Hoskins on a three-year deal, do the Phillies issue the QO or not?? Could Rhys take the QO and then immediately re-negotiate a three-year deal?? Or could he only negotiate a three year deal by not accepting the QO ???
Either. He can decline and then later resign, or accept and be signed at the QO rate plus sign an extension. But I don’t think the Phils would offer the QO if they want to sign him to a 3-year deal, and he probably wouldn’t negotiate until he knows if it’s being offered.
M’s definitely should QO Teoscar. Be fine if he signed it.
Then add one more bat, preferably by signing a DH to a 13-year contract.