Major League Baseball's offseason cleared one of its first and most important deadlines at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, as teams were required to have tendered qualifying offers to their desired impending free agents. The players who received the qualifying offer (hereby QO) will now have until 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 19 to accept or reject what amounts to a one-year pact worth $21.05 million (that's the average of the league's top 125 salaries). In the history of the QO, which was implemented in 2012, only 13 of 131 players have accepted it.
Before we get to the rules, here's the complete list of players tendered the QO on Monday:
- Juan Soto, OF, New York Yankees
- Corbin Burnes, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
- Alex Bregman, 3B, Houston Astros
- Willy Adames, SS, Milwaukee Brewers
- Max Fried, LHP, Atlanta Braves
- Pete Alonso, 1B, New York Mets
- Anthony Santander, OF, Baltimore Orioles
- Nick Martinez, RHP, Cincinnati Reds
- Teoscar Hernández, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Christian Walker, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
- Nick Pivetta, RHP, Boston Red Sox
- Sean Manaea, LHP, New York Mets
- Luis Severino, RHP, New York Mets
The players who reject the QO will continue on into free agency, albeit with draft-pick compensation now attached to their services. Here's a breakdown of how the compensation component works these days -- mind you, it changes based on a team's revenue-sharing status as well as the total value of the player's contract:
| Former team | Contract size | Compensation |
|---|---|---|
Received revenue sharing | Less than $50 million | Pick after competitive balance round B (before third round) |
Received revenue sharing | $50 million or more | Pick after first round |
Paid competitive balance tax | N/A | Pick after fourth round |
All other teams | N/A | Pick after competitive balance round B (before third round) |
Likewise, here's a breakdown of the penalties for signing a player who rejected the QO:
| Signing team | 2025 draft picks forfeited | 2026 international bonus money forfeited |
|---|---|---|
Paid CBT | Second and fifth highest | $1 million |
Received revenue sharing | Third highest | none |
All other teams | Second highest | $500,000 |
Not every player is allowed to be tendered the QO. Those who change teams in-season are ineligible, as are players who have already been tendered the qualifying offer earlier in their careers. That rules out the likes of Blake SNell, Nathan Eovaldi, and Jack Flaherty, among other notable names.
Again, these players will have until Nov. 19 to make up their minds.
