The deadline to accept the qualifying offer has passed. Four players — Trent Grisham, Gleyber Torres, Brandon Woodruff, and Shota Imanaga — chose to accept the one-year, $22.025MM deal and remain with their current clubs. The remaining nine players rejected the deal. They are: Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker, Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber, Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette, Astros lefty Framber Valdez, Padres righty Dylan Cease, Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez, Mets closer Edwin Diaz, Diamondbacks righty Zac Gallen, and Padres righty Michael King. All nine are now free agents.
There’s not much surprise in any of the nine players who rejected. Tucker, Schwarber, Bichette, Valdez, Cease, Suarez and Diaz were all locks. Gallen may have given some brief thought to accepting after a rough showing in 2025, but he finished strong and has a track record as a high-end starter who’s garnered multiple top-five finishes in NL Cy Young balloting. King was hobbled by nerve and knee injuries in an odd season but was dominant in 2023-24 and through the first two months of the current season. He was healthy late in the year and fanned three in his lone inning of postseason work. He’ll test the waters in search of a multi-year deal as well.
Now that this nonet has rejected qualifying offers, they’ll all be subject to draft compensation. Interested teams will need to surrender a draft pick (or multiple picks) and, in some cases, space from their bonus pool for international amateurs in order to sign any of this group. The extent of that draft compensation depends on the revenue-sharing and luxury tax status of the new team. MLBTR broke down which pick(s) each club would forfeit by signing a “qualified” free agent last month.
Similarly, the compensation for each player’s former club is dependent on revenue-sharing and luxury tax status — as well as the size of the contract signed by the player in question. MLBTR also ran through the compensation each team would receive if their qualified free agents turned down the offer and signed elsewhere.
22 mil. I think you can pay bills to play a game.
It’s an $11B business, not just a game.
Not sure what the point of this comment is. Baseball players are paid to play a game…baseball. Fry cooks at McDonalds work for a multi-billion dollar business as well but they are still just fry cooks.
Because the fry cooks aren’t one of a very very very small subset of humans on earth that can do that job, and generate that revenue.
There are PLENTY of billionaires and corporations who can take over writing the checks (they are similar to fry cooks that way). There are very few qualified professional-level baseballs athletes. They produce the unique product, but make a tiny fraction of the actual profit.
Chipper, your entire premise is off.
Baseball players are paid to work in the entertainment business, not to play a game. They are also extremely highly skilled. One of just 1200 that can work in that particular portion of the entertainment industry at any one time and one of maybe 60-70 in the world that can do their particular job at a similar skill level. Regardless of what you do, if you are one of the top 60-70 in a highly specialized field you are going to get paid and deservedly so.
Cooks at McDonalds restaurants are not extremely highly skilled, there are millions currently doing the job and tens of millions that have done the job successfully, and they work for a $1.5 million franchise not McDonalds itself.
Fry cooks don’t have their own rumors site.
Datashark,
Now I’m hoping someone starts FCTR.com.
I hear Zoe isn’t happy at Wendy’s and is looking to opt out and move to In and Out.
I heard Whattaburger, is offering her a nice deferral package that will pay well into her retirement
Last I heard 632 billionaires last I heard and I don’t believe a corporation can purchase an MLB team unless other owners approve it. Heck private equity is limited to 30 percent max per team.
You win the internet
Now I want a Dr Pepper milkshake!
It’s called reddit
PE is limited to 15% ownership in any one team.
LTC, have you ever had a Dirty Dr Pepper at Sonic?
No but Sonic is a lot closer to me than Whattaburger so fill me in.
Here is a copycat recipe. You can make it at home.
copykat.com/sonic-dirty-dr-pepper/
On the PE I should have specified. A team can sell up to 30% of ownership to PE firms, but a single PE firm can own no more than 15%.
Read your comment like DMX would’ve with a bark at the end.
This isn’t a game. It’s a very important major sports and financial sports league that provides quite a few jobs.
4 players accepting the offer may be a record?
I believe it is
3 accepts was the highest in 2016.
The total now is 18 of out 157 (11.5%) since the Q.O. was implemented in 2012.
I just wanna say that I accurately predicted 3 of the 4. Darn you gleyber
I in accurately predicted 3 out of 4 – thank you Gleyber!
I got 4-5 I just knew Gallen would realize his market was under 22 million per year and try to increase his value
Chiming in with a miss on Shota … .800 so far
I was 100% on the ones I selected.
I hope I’m wrong but this feels like a bad omen for the state of the market.
bad omen how?
Probably worried about the lockout next year and how it will affect their chances at getting a good deal this year
2026 CBA is looming.
If we were to set a salary cap. I would set it at 400MM
400 mill? Bro not even close. Take about 100 mill off of that. These small markets will NEVER sniff that.
Okay yeah.
300 million or 275 million.
160 floor 200 ceiling if normal year to year salary increases are to stay the same.
The min. pay for the 2026 is 780K. How many teams can stay under/above that?
His was a “bait” post…
Whether it was 300 million or 400 million the dodgers would be immediately over it.
@junior25 why should it be up to the players to ensure that small market teams can compete? The owners should share more revenue first.
@pt57 I agree with you. The owners are sharing enough revenue, but they aren’t using all the revenue and that’s their problem. Also, they get more bonus pool and better draft picks. They small market teams just aren’t using their resources effectively.
I cant believe people are still willing to believe the owners:
1) every ownership group is a multi-billion dollar entity
2) only the Braves have open books, so the other owners just say nothing. Why dont they disclose tv, sponsorship, concessions, merchandising, parking, revenue sharing, insurance payments when they say they lose money? Oh, thats right, because they dont
3) speaking of revenue sharing, there should be a 100% correlation between league payments to teams, and team reinvestment in players (got that Nutting?)
4) more than simply a business sports franchises are community trusts that do in fact owe a debt back yo the fans, not simply their sharholders
Not that any of that absolve the players in any of this message, except Shane Bieber, hes the one stand up guy in all of this (i think)
And Comcast internet is booming
Cashman came out and confirmed what I thought about George’s kids. They won’t spend like the old man. Cashman said in a interview in Vegas that the Yankees have a budget.
It is a question what they will approve. They may let Bellinger walk and go after Bregman for 3B. Cashman’s comments tells me Volpe, if healthy is going to remain SS.
The problem is they don’t have a SS on the roster that is above average. They may have to move one or more of Rice, Dominquez or Spencer Jones to balance out the roster and get the pieces they need.
Grisham, Rice and Stanton are such albatrosses on the roster when it comes to defensive deficiency. I didn’t realize how much Grisham dropped off until Rosenthal went over his defensive metrics.
Get creative!
Well I guess that means no Bellinger or Tucker now that the Yankees are going to dump 22 million on Grish.
I’m not a Yankees’ fan, but these things aren’t mutually exclusive.
Cody Bellinger and the defensive versatility he offers is still very possible. Kyle Tucker as a strict corner OF is far less likely now., especially in regards to his expected contract.
The Yankees have too many other needs and will be much wiser addressing those through free agency and trades, especially pitching.
I’m feeling pretty good thus far in this year’s FA contest. I had Josh Naylor returning to the Mariners and also picked 3 of the 4 players who accepted their QO’s. Ironically, the only one I missed on was Trent Grisham.
We had them both last year, we can this as well, even with the extra cash spent. I mean, we would have had to spend it on someone!
Can players who accepted their QOs still negotiate extensions or is there a waiting period?
A player can sign an extension.
A player can always sign an extension with any team they are currently on, regardless of the QO. Let’s take Torres. If the Tigers say “Gleyber, we’d love to go 5/100. You in?” He can say yes and even tear up the QO offer for this year and he plays ‘26-‘30 on the new deal.
Well the fundamentals are true but I dont think they can tear it up. Them accepting is putting pen to paper so any extension would be in addition to
Isn’t the QO kinda like the NFL’s franchise tag? They can give a new deal for football; I figured they could just do the same thing for baseball but I could be wrong there.
The extension can be in lieu of the QO.
There’s no mandated moratorium on Extensions. Some franchises implement “team rules” like no negotiations during the season, etc. but all 4 of these “acceptors” can be Extended pronto.
When there is mutual interest and agreement on an extension that can happen literally at any point.
From a players’ perspective, the point of accepting the Q.O. is taking a big paycheck and buyong time to establish/rebuild long-term value. An extension *can* happen but it’s likely not going to until a few months into the new season at the earliest.
Great decision by Trent Grisham. Pocket that cash and then show them you mean business!
No brainer for Grish, he ain’t worth that. Bad move by the Yanks.
22 million for Trent is a waste of $
Probably, they can afford it. Good for him!
If he hits 34 more homers he’ll be worth it.
I haven’t seen any top prospects being protected. Is everything coming out in like the last 5 minutes
No qualifying offer required for Bellinger?
Not eligible as he was already offered one by the Cubs.
Already had one from the Cubs, which he declined.
I am a little surprised Gallen didn’t accept the offer with the down season he had last year
The only surprise really – Teams are not going to be jumping on him unless he offers a deal to them
Isn’t a player accepting a QO, by definition, evidence of a bad decision by their club? Four is quite a few. Clear overpays in each case.
They aren’t the best at finance.
Not necessarily or inherently. That’s not to say that there never are or can’t be situations where it’s reasonable to say a club made a poor decision but ultimately that’s a matter of opinion case by case. If a club offers a qo it’s reasonable, all things being equal, to take that to mean that they were comfortable with the possibility of the player accepting. And ultimately it’s a one year deal for a player who’s track record supports entertaining the idea at all so it should not be crippling for any of these teams. Clubs can even trade these players at the deadline if they want to and find a deal they like.
People make bad decisions throughout their lives. Bet you made one. Bet everyone made one.
Ok duder. I literally said it’s possible to view any individual qo as a bad decision but it’s not inherently a bad outcome if a player accepts it. Guess one of your bad decisions was not learning to read at an adult level lol.
I don’t think you get my purpose
They also say, no such thing as a bad one year deal
They knew what extending the QO meant. So they made their decision. It means they were okay with that player coming back on a one year 22M deal. The Brewers declining the option then paying the bonus and then QO is the only questionable call. Arguably giving Grisham the QO in the first place
Not if they’re cool paying the player that money and/or he can put up something like 2.5 WAR the following season.
The red sox don’t like to give up draft picks, so I think they’re gonna try to sign alonso
Neither do I. But Dana Brown does.
Maybe, but Aranda isn’t a bad option there against RHP.
Kyle Tucker went to Plant HS also…
Padres getting some 4th round picks.
Unless you sign a player with a QO
They would still be getting some 4th round picks. They just would lose a 2nd and 5th if they signed a QO players unless it’s king or cease.
Does accepting the QO give these 4 guys any leverage for negotiating an extension?
Good question
On an individual basis, yes and no. Many, many factors… perhaps none more important than the team’s FO beliefs.
Some id suppose. If the team wants to lower the aav and keep the player long term. Then they could work out an extension.
So I am a bit confused on why the cubs did not pick up the option on Shota when it was 15 million and then opt not to pick up the second option the following year when the uptake in his contract kicked in? Did they not just lose another 7 million by him taking the QO?
it wasn’t a 1 year pick up, it was picking up 3 years and 45ish million. They are willing to spend a little bit more this year to get out from under the next 2.
The team opted out of 3/57. Then Shota opted out of 1/15, with another 1/15 player option. Then accepted 1/22 in the form of a QO. They spend 3 mil more this year but save the future. He makes 7 mil more than he would’ve opting in
Pretty sure the $15m option was a player option. The Cubs’ option was for more years with a higher AAV.
The $15 million was a player option that he turned down.
Please White Sox add some power!
I honestly think the White Sox will compete in 2027 and has a chance next season. But 2027 is a solid time.
Not in 2027. If Luis Roberts, Jr. rebounds, he’ll be out the door come the trade deadline. The White Sox have too many holes to plug and one year in ’26 isn’t enough time.
I’m sorry. I just realized my mistake. The White Sox were too bad in 2024 so they had lots of improvement, I just realized it.
Brewers SURPRISE! They’ll have to move salary to be able to afford him. Looks like Peralta goes on the block!!
We should learn from Milwaukee. Low payroll, high competitivness
@Astros Yes. Cleveland, too. The AntiMets.
I’m talking to Jim Crane in particlular.
Our next station is the 40 man deadline.
In little more than an hour
When I check in like 20 minutes, I will likely see a bunch of news
Welp, with the 4 accepting offers, I’m now 1/5 in the contest. Par for the course! At least I got Gleyber!
congrats. I decided not to enter because of the name. Maybe later.
The name???
What’s a nonet?
A nonet is a musical ensemble or composition written for nine performers. It’s less common than quartets or quintets but has a rich tradition in both classical and jazz settings.
Only problem with straight Rule 5 is that SD currently has no spot in the BP to hide a guy. A draft / return / trade for low level player might switch up some prospects favorably though.
Right but like Kolek, you have to have a BP spot to stash a guy not ready to compete at MLB level on a playoff contending team. Yes, you can draft and return but the evaluators should have a good idea of chance of sticking in a rotation and well, need to move on to bounce back candidates or 1 year prove it deals or BP guy wanting to start, etc. instead of trying to build a rotation out of MILB guys that their current team can’’t use.
Problem with trading those guys are there are other teams with their needs and space constraints. If you trade them a rule 5 and they don’t have space then why would they take him? They would just keep their guy.
Most of those trades work as you return the player after all of these deadlines / ST and you give a guy that the other team wants more.
There aren’t typically Rule 5 trades pre-draft.
Again, if they are a non-ready SP, a contending team doesn’t need to waste time or innings on them.
2 years ago, Kolek was mop up guy – they don’t have that spot available this year.
Roster is at 36 after protecting 2 arms today. Need a RH 1B/DH guy (might be Campusano), then you need a back-up C (could also/or be Campusano) leaving 2 40 Man spots for arms. I want Dustin May for SP and a solid BPer, maybe Iglesias? Airbender? Shortens games considerably. 40 Man full after those 4 adds, until Yu can go to the 60. There’s no *realistic* room for a R5er this year.
Gwynning – I wonder if Hoeing can’t be your answer for BP. He was a nice addition when acquired but for reasons I don’t think have been publicized greatly, didn’t factor into 2025 at all. Leaves another slot on 40 for King / Merrill Kelly / Gallen / Nicky – someone similar for rotation.
Sure, love Hoeing. He can start, too! We’ll settle a lot in ST, but there really isn’t *too* much to settle. Fill the rest of the 4, 5 40 Man spots with 2, 3 arms and let’s roll!
The clock is ticking. I’m getting nervous about some of the prospects the Astros aren’t protecting. 20 minutes left!
“”nonet”???? Really!
writer should have used “nonad”. Nonet refers to a group of 9 in a musical group
The Diamondbacks, Athletics, Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, Guardians, Rockies, Tigers, Royals, Dodgers, Marlins, Twins, Yankees, Phillies,Padres, Giants, Mariners,Cardinals, Rays, Rangers, Blue Jays are all going to make more moves.
The Astros and several other teams willl likely make more moves. But those teams up there have not protected any top 30. They are running out of time. About 15-20 minutes left.
It’s coming in 2027: Skenes/EDLC = Yankees
I probably haven’t looked hard enough or waited long enough, I don’t know because I didn’t follow Rule 5 last year. I didn’t see anything about Andrew Painter getting protected.
As a Brewers fan I’m very pleased Woody is coming back
Awwww yeeeeaaahhhh, 3 for 5 so far. On a pace for 30. 😀
The second chapter of MLB news. The A’s, Braves, Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, Rox, Astros, Royals, Twins, Mariners, and others still likely have yet to announce all of their selection.
No. Contending teams do not take on Rule 5 guys and then stick them in the rotation. Padres don’t even have a spot in the pen to hide a Rule 5 guy season. Won’t happen.
Honestly, I’m not sad to see Tucker go, but I am miffed that the Cubbies practically gave the Astros some good talent to get him in the first place. He was basically a one year rental. Hoyer needs to do better, and not break the bank doing it.
The Twins are below McDonald’s !