FAQ: What to know about Giants' offseason

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With the World Series drawing to a close, it’s almost time to turn the page and start preparing for 2025.

Here's a primer on everything you need to know about the Giants’ upcoming offseason.

What are the key dates?
• First day after the World Series ends: Eligible players become free agents. That starts a five-day “quiet period” in which free agents may negotiate only with their team. The trade freeze is also lifted, meaning Major League players may be dealt between clubs.

• Fifth day after the World Series ends: The deadline for teams and players to make decisions on contract options, the deadline for clubs to reinstate all players on the 60-day injured list, and the deadline for clubs to tender qualifying offers. Also, the “quiet period” ends and Major League free agents are free to sign with any club as of 2 p.m. PT. Minor League players become free agents at 2 p.m. PT, if applicable.

• Nov. 4-7: GM Meetings in San Antonio, Texas

• Nov. 19: The deadline for players to accept a qualifying offer is 1 p.m. PT. The deadline to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft is 3 p.m. PT.

• Nov. 22: The tender deadline. Teams must formally tender contracts to unsigned players for the following season, including their arbitration-eligible players, by 5 p.m. PT. If a player is non-tendered, he becomes a free agent.

• Dec. 9-11: Winter Meetings in Dallas, including the MLB Draft lottery on Dec. 10 and the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 11

• Dec. 15: End of the 2024 international signing period

• Jan. 10, 2025: Eligible players and their teams exchange arbitration figures

• Jan. 15, 2025: Start of the new international signing period

Which players are set to become free agents?
Outfielder Michael Conforto, first baseman/outfielder Mark Canha and catcher Curt Casali. None are expected to receive a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer.

Which players have options?
Infielder Wilmer Flores, who underwent a season-ending Tenex procedure on his right knee in August, has a $3.5 million player option for 2025. If he declines it, the Giants can exercise an $8.5 million club option.

What about opt-out clauses?
Left-hander Blake Snell is widely expected to opt out of the final year of his two-year, $62 million deal and become a free agent this offseason. (Snell would be ineligible to receive a qualifying offer since he declined one from the Padres last winter.) Fellow southpaw Robbie Ray also has the ability to opt out of the final two years of his five-year, $115 million contract, though he seems unlikely to do so after recording a 4.70 ERA in seven starts after returning from Tommy John surgery.

Who might be a non-tender candidate?
The Giants have four arbitration-eligible players this offseason: outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. and right-handed relievers Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers. Yastrzemski is projected to earn close to $10 million in his final year of arbitration, though he’s established himself as a solid all-around player and still seems likely to have a place in the Giants’ outfield mix in 2025.

Wade is an on-base machine when healthy, but he’s dealt with nagging knee issues and has Bryce Eldridge -- the Giants' No. 1 prospect and No. 35 in baseball -- coming up behind him at first base. Wade could make sense as a stopgap option, though the Giants might also prefer to pursue another power-hitting first baseman such as Christian Walker, Carlos Santana or Paul Goldschmidt in free agency this winter.

Doval and Rogers are among the longest-tenured Giants relievers and should be locks to return next year.

Who needs to be added to the 40-man roster this winter to avoid the Rule 5 Draft?
Three members of MLB Pipeline’s list of Top 30 Giants prospects will be Rule 5 Draft-eligible if they’re not added to the 40-man roster this offseason: shortstop Aeverson Arteaga (No. 11), right-hander Carson Seymour (No. 23) and catcher Onil Perez (No. 28). Other notable names include former first-round Draft picks Hunter Bishop and Will Bednar, right-handers Carson Ragsdale and Wil Jensen, left-hander Juan Sanchez and utility man Brett Auerbach.

No one feels like a slam dunk, but Seymour, Ragsdale and Sanchez could have solid cases to be protected since they have Triple-A experience and could give the Giants extra pitching depth heading into 2025.