12 decline qualifying offer; N. Martinez accepts

12 decline qualifying offer; N. Martinez accepts

December 20th, 2024

Thirteen players were tendered a qualifying offer (a one-year, $21.05 million deal for 2025) this offseason, but Reds right-hander was the only one who accepted.

Players who accept qualifying offers are signed with their teams for the next season at the designated value. Those who don't accept remain free agents, and if a new team signs them, their old team receives Draft pick compensation.

Since the system was implemented in 2012, only 14 players to receive a QO have accepted it.

Here's a breakdown of this year's decisions, as well as the 2025 Draft compensation each club will receive for losing a QO free agent to another team.

ACCEPTED QO

, SP/RP (Reds)
Martinez recorded a 3.10 ERA over 142 1/3 innings in the first season of a two-year, $26 million deal with the Reds, including an impressive 2.42 ERA in 11 starts after joining Cincinnati’s injury-riddled rotation on a full-time basis this past August. The 34-year-old, who has notched a 3.31 ERA in three seasons since returning from a stint in Japan, opted out of his contract to become a free agent at the end of the campaign but will be back with the Reds in 2025.

DECLINED QO AND SIGNED ELSEWHERE

, SS (Brewers)
New team: Giants (seven years, $182 million)

Adames had a huge walk year in 2024, producing career highs in homers (32), RBIs (112) and steals (21) with a .794 OPS (118 OPS+) over 161 games. The 29-year-old is tied with Corey Seager for first among shortstops with 112 home runs since the beginning of 2021.

Brewers' Draft compensation: Pick between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A

, SP (Braves)
New team: Yankees (eight years, $218 million)

Fried doesn’t miss bats at an elite level, but that hasn’t stopped him from recording the best ERA+ (151) among pitchers with at least 500 innings since the beginning of 2020. The southpaw made 29 starts with a 3.25 ERA and 166 K’s over 174 1/3 innings in 2024, bouncing back from an injury-shortened 2023 season.

Braves’ Draft compensation: Pick after the completion of Round 4

, SP (Mets)
New team: Athletics (three years, $67 million)

Severino’s tenure with the Yankees ended on a sour note, with the right-hander recording a 6.65 ERA in 2023. However, he found new life across town after signing a one-year, $13 million deal with the Mets in free agency, staying healthy and posting a 3.91 ERA over 182 innings -- his highest total since 2018.

Mets’ Draft compensation: Pick after the completion of Round 4

, OF (Yankees)
New team: Mets (15 years, $765 million)

Soto delivered another standout year in 2024, producing a career-high 41 homers with 109 RBIs, 129 walks, 128 runs scored and a .989 OPS following a trade from the Padres to the Yankees. The disciplined slugger is on a Hall of Fame path, having recorded 201 homers, 592 RBIs, 769 walks and a .953 OPS (160 OPS+) through his age-25 season.

Yankees’ Draft compensation: Pick after the completion of Round 4

(D-backs)
New team: Astros (three years, $60 million) (source)

A late-bloomer who has appeared in parts of 10 big league seasons -- the past eight with Arizona -- Walker was a free agent for the first time at the age of 33. The right-handed slugger has quietly become one of the game’s best first basemen, pairing a potent bat with elite glove work. Since the beginning of 2022, Walker has recorded 95 homers and an .813 OPS (123 OPS+) while leading his position with +38 Outs Above Average.

D-backs' Draft compensation: Pick between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A

DECLINED QO AND STILL UNSIGNED

, 1B (Mets)
Alonso has been one of baseball’s top power hitters since his 2019 debut, ranking second in the Majors behind Aaron Judge with 226 home runs in that time. The durable first baseman, who owns a lifetime .854 OPS, has never finished a full season (excluding 2020) with fewer than 34 dingers.

Mets’ Draft compensation if Alonso signs elsewhere: Pick after the completion of Round 4

, 3B (Astros)
Bregman is set to reach free agency for the first time after nine seasons with the Astros, during which he helped the team win seven American League West titles, three pennants and two World Series championships. Although he has yet to revisit his 2018-19 apex (72 HR, 157 OPS+, 16.8 WAR), the 30-year-old has remained one of MLB’s most productive third basemen in recent years. Bregman got off to a slow start in 2024, but he still finished with 26 homers, a .768 OPS (118 OPS+) and 4.1 WAR (per Baseball-Reference).

Astros’ Draft compensation if Bregman signs elsewhere: Pick after the completion of Round 4

, SP (Orioles)
Burnes lived up to expectations after being traded from the Brewers to the Orioles in the offseason, earning his fourth straight All-Star selection and finishing with a 2.92 ERA and 181 strikeouts over 194 1/3 innings. The 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner has posted a 2.88 ERA over the past five seasons, ranking third in the Majors with 816 2/3 innings in that span.

Orioles' Draft compensation if Burnes signs elsewhere: Pick after the completion of Competitive Balance Round A (if he signs for at least $50 million); pick after Competitive Balance Round B (if he signs for less than $50 million)

, OF (Dodgers)
Hernández signed a one-year, $23.5 million deal with the Dodgers last offseason and went on to record a career-high 33 homers with an .840 OPS, up 99 points from the .741 OPS he posted with the Mariners in 2023. The right-handed slugger has recorded 180 home runs with a 122 OPS+ for the Blue Jays, Mariners and Dodgers since the start of the 2018 campaign.

Dodgers’ Draft compensation if Hernández signs elsewhere: Pick after the completion of Round 4

, SP (Mets)
After pitching to a 4.73 ERA over 67 appearances (38 starts) for the Padres and Giants in 2022-23, Manaea rejuvenated his career with the Mets in his age-32 campaign. The left-hander tossed a career-high 181 2/3 innings and finished the regular season with a 3.47 ERA and 184 strikeouts. As expected, he opted out of the final year on his two-year, $28 million deal with New York after the season.

Mets’ Draft compensation if Manaea signs elsewhere: Pick after the completion of Round 4

, SP (Red Sox)
Pivetta, 31, posted a 4.14 ERA over 27 appearances (26 starts) for Boston in 2024, though his expected ERA was well below that, at 3.59. His 28.9% strikeout rate ranked in the 88th percentile among qualifying pitchers, and his 6.1% walk rate placed him in the 80th percentile. He made his MLB debut with the Phillies in 2007, and he was traded to the Red Sox during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Pivetta made two starts for Boston that season, and from 2021-24, he pitched to a 4.33 ERA (102 ERA+) over 129 outings (105 starts).

Red Sox’s Draft compensation if Pivetta signs elsewhere: Pick after the completion of Competitive Balance Round B

, OF (Orioles)
Santander erupted for a career-high 44 home runs with 102 RBIs and an .814 OPS (134 OPS+) over 155 games in 2024. The slugger ranked third in the Majors in homers and became the eighth switch-hitter in MLB history to belt 40-plus dingers in a single season.

Orioles' Draft compensation if Santander signs elsewhere: Pick between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A (if he signs for at least $50 million); pick after Competitive Balance Round B (if he signs for less than $50 million)

NOTABLE PLAYERS WHO DID NOT RECEIVE QO

Cardinals: 1B
Dodgers: RHP
Guardians: RHP
Padres: OF , UTIL
Red Sox: OF
Yankees: 2B

INELIGIBLE FOR QUALIFYING OFFER

Not every free agent can receive a QO. Players who have previously received a QO are ineligible, which means the following free agents were not eligible to receive one:

(Guardians), (Giants), (Nationals), (Rangers), (Pirates), (Astros), (Red Sox), (Cardinals), (D-backs), Martín Pérez (Padres), (Braves), (Yankees), (Twins), (Rangers), (Royals), (Giants), (Mariners), (Astros)

Players who weren't continuously with an organization, either in the Minors or Majors, from Opening Day until the end of the regular season are also ineligible. Notable free agents in this category who weren’t mentioned above include:

(Guardians), (D-backs), (Giants), (Royals), (Phillies), (Dodgers), (Red Sox), (Reds), (Astros), (Royals), (Brewers), (Royals), (Reds), (Padres), (Mets)

COMPENSATION FOR LOSING PLAYERS WHO REJECT THEIR QO

If a team gives a qualifying offer to a player who then signs elsewhere, the club that lost the player is eligible for Draft pick compensation the following year.

• Competitive Balance Tax payors: If the team that loses the player went over the CBT threshold, the compensation pick will be placed after the fourth round has been completed. The value of the player's contract doesn't matter in this case.

• Revenue-sharing recipients: If the team that loses the player is a revenue-sharing recipient, based on its revenues and market size, then the selection -- if and only if the lost player signs for at least $50 million -- will be awarded a pick between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A of the MLB Draft. If the player signs for less than $50 million, the compensation pick for those teams would come after Competitive Balance Round B, which follows the second round.

• All other teams: If the team that loses the player does not receive revenue sharing and did not exceed the CBT salary threshold the previous season, its compensatory pick will come after Competitive Balance Round B. The value of the player's contract doesn't matter in this case.

PENALTIES FOR SIGNING PLAYERS WHO REJECT THEIR QO

Any team that signs a player who has rejected a qualifying offer is subject to the loss of one or more Draft picks. However, a team's highest first-round pick is exempt from forfeiture. (Players who are unsigned after the start of the MLB Draft in the year that follows the rejection of their qualifying offer are no longer tied to Draft pick compensation and can be signed without their new club needing to forfeit a Draft pick.)

Three tiers of Draft pick forfeiture -- based on the financial status of the signing team -- are in place to serve as a penalty for signing a player who rejected a qualifying offer:

• Competitive Balance Tax payors: A team that exceeded the CBT threshold in the preceding season will lose its second- and fifth-highest selections in the following year's Draft, as well as $1 million from its international bonus pool for the upcoming signing period. If such a team signs multiple qualifying-offer free agents, it will forfeit its third- and sixth-highest picks as well.

• Revenue-sharing recipients: A team that receives revenue-sharing money will lose its third-highest selection in the following year's Draft. If it signs two such players, it will also forfeit its fourth-highest pick.

• All other teams: If a team does not receive revenue sharing and did not exceed the CBT salary threshold in the previous season, it will lose its second-highest selection in the following year's Draft, as well as $500,000 from its international bonus pool for the upcoming signing period. If one of these teams signs two such players, it will also forfeit its third-highest pick.

These are classifications for each team that will determine the Draft picks they receive (for a departing QO player) or forfeit (for signing a QO player).

Competitive Balance Tax payors: Astros, Braves, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mets, Phillies, Rangers, Yankees

Revenue-sharing recipients: Athletics, Brewers, D-backs, Guardians, Mariners, Marlins, Orioles, Pirates, Rays, Reds, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, Twins

All other clubs: Angels, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Nationals, Padres, Red Sox, White Sox