MLB Teams Face Monday Deadline for $23.15 Million Qualifying Offers

Major League Baseball clubs face a Monday, November 2, deadline to extend qualifying offers to eligible free agents. The offer for the 2027 season is worth $23.15 million, making each decision a salary commitment alongside a route to draft compensation.

Players who receive an offer have until 4 p.m. EST on November 17 to accept or reject it. The team deadline comes first; Monday does not require a player to accept the contract or choose his next club.

The contract lasts one year and is based on the average of baseball’s 125 highest salaries. Eligibility requires spending the entire preceding season with one organization and never having received a qualifying offer before. Players traded during the season are ineligible.

Acceptance keeps the player with his club at the designated salary. He cannot be traded without his consent until June 15. Rejection can connect his eventual signing elsewhere to compensation for his former team and a draft penalty for the club signing him.

Those compensation picks differ by the former club’s financial position. Competitive balance tax payers receive a pick after the fourth round. Revenue sharing recipients can receive an earlier selection when the departing player signs for at least $50 million. Teams do not gain or surrender draft picks when they retain their own free agent, CBS Sports reported.

Monday also brings most contract option decisions. General managers meetings follow November 10 through 12 in Las Vegas. November 17 carries another roster deadline, when clubs must protect eligible minor leaguers from the Rule 5 Draft by adding them to their rosters.

The qualifying offer process remains in place under the current collective bargaining agreement. Its expiration on December 1 is a labor deadline. This month’s offer decisions come before that agreement expires, rather than waiting for a replacement labor deal.