As first noted by Jayson Stark of The Athletic, Major League Baseball has announced the monetary value of this offseason’s qualifying offers.
After increasing from $17.4 million to $17.9 million from the 2018 offseason to the 2019 offseason, this year’s one-year deal is valued at $17.8 million — the first decrease in value since the QO’s inception in 2012.
The qualifying offer is calculated by averaging the salaries of the 125 highest-paid players in the game. Apparently, the sluggish free-agent market over the last two offseasons is having ripple effects.
A player is eligible to be extended a qualifying offer if he’s never received a qualifying offer in the past and if he spent the entire previous season on that team’s roster.
A team — let’s say the Mets, for example, with regards to Zack Wheeler — will extend a one-year qualifying offer to a departing free agent in order to secure a compensatory draft pick in the following year’s draft if that player decides to sign with a different team.
Since 2012, only six of the 80 players extended a qualifying offer have accepted it: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers, 2019; Jeremy Hellickson, Phillies, 2017; Neil Walker, Mets, 2017; Colby Rasmus, Astros, 2016; Matt Wieters, Orioles, 2016; Brett Anderson, Dodgers, 2016.
We’ll keep you updated with new information when available.
