Thirteen of baseball’s most significant free agents received qualifying offers on Thursday. They have until Nov. 18 to decide whether to accept, though history suggests the vast majority will decline.
This year’s qualifying offer was set at $22.025 million, which is the mean salary of the 125 highest-paid players in the league. Players who accept will receive that salary on a one-year deal for 2026. Those who reject will become free agents, and any team that signs them will have to surrender a compensatory draft pick.
More than 150 players have received qualifying offers since the system was implemented in 2012, and only 14 have accepted. Thirteen players received a qualifying offer last winter and Reds starter Nick Martinez was the only one who accepted.
Free agents who were traded midseason are not eligible to receive a qualifying offer (Josh Naylor and Merrill Kelly are among them), nor are players who received a qualifying offer in the past (Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso).
These are the 13 players who received a qualifying offer on Thursday.
Bo Bichette, Blue Jays
The only thing that could’ve prevented Bichette from getting the qualifying offer was if he reached an extension with the Blue Jays before the deadline. After reestablishing himself as one of the game’s top natural hitters this season, Bichette will be one of the best bats in this year’s free-agent class. While he’s expressed interest in a return to Toronto, sticking with long-time running mate Vladimir Guerrero Jr., he should receive significant interest across the league as a shortstop or second baseman. — Mitch Bannon
Dylan Cease, San Diego Padres
Cease didn’t deliver as hoped in his contract year, but he remains one of baseball’s most durable pitchers, with the upside of an occasional ace. Since his debut with the Chicago White Sox in 2019, Cease’s strikeout rate ranks first among qualifying starters. He has missed only one start, when he was a late scratch at the end of his rookie season. The Scott Boras client will decline the qualifying offer. — Dennis Lin
Edwin Díaz, New York Mets
Díaz opted out of $18.5 million per season over the next two; the top annual salary for a closer is Josh Hader’s $19 million with the Houston Astros. Díaz, the No. 11 free agent on The Athletic’s Big Board, should become the first closer to earn $20 million per season; there’s a reasonable chance the deal is long enough to make him the first closer to sign a nine-figure contract. — Tim Britton
Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
Had he been a free agent last year, a qualifying offer would have been a no-brainer. From 2020 to 2024, Gallen was a consistent performer who twice finished top five in Cy Young Award voting. This season, though, was a significant step back as Gallen had a career-worst 4.83 ERA. He did make 33 starts, though; he’s still just 30 years old. He also looked far better in the second half (3.97 ERA, 1.09 WHIP). There’s enough of a track record and enough bounce-back potential that the Diamondbacks made the offer, and Gallen could turn it down despite the disappointing season. — Chad Jennings
Trent Grisham, New York Yankees
The Yankees giving Grisham the qualifying offer comes as a bit of a surprise, though it also makes sense. They surely wouldn’t hate getting 34 home runs from him again. Plus, center field is considered a thin position throughout the game, and if anybody can afford to potentially overpay, it’s billionaire owner Hal Steinbrenner. The Yankees can pay Grisham and still chase Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker. But the Yankees also might have a sense that Grisham, 29, has a solid chance at securing a multiyear offer, and they would rather not lose him for nothing. It will be fascinating to see whether Grisham takes it. That’s a lot of money, and as recently as last offseason, he was a DFA candidate. — Brendan Kuty
Shota Imanaga, Chicago Cubs
After a series of contract decisions made him a free agent, Imanaga will now have to choose between returning to Wrigley Field on a prove-it deal or starting anew with a different team. Imanaga’s representatives will use this time to assess the market for starting pitchers and identify potential landing spots for the Japanese lefty, who was an All-Star and a Cy Young Award contender in 2024. Until a late-season slump this year, Imanaga, 32, had been one of Chicago’s most popular and productive players. Here are the reference points, based on the options both sides declined this week: The Cubs did not think Imanaga would outperform a three-year, $57.75 million commitment, while Imanaga turned down a chance to guarantee himself at least $30.5 million over the next two seasons. — Patrick Mooney
Michael King, Padres
A long thoracic nerve issue and a knee injury wiped out half of King’s platform season, likely costing him tens of millions of dollars in the process. Twelve months removed from a 2024 campaign in which he logged a 2.95 ERA and 201 strikeouts, he should still draw widespread interest. King is expected to decline the qualifying offer and head into free agency as one of the most intriguing pitchers available. — Lin
Kyle Schwarber, Phillies
Even at 33 and without a position, Schwarber will be a coveted free agent who will land one of the largest contracts ever for a designated hitter. He will reject the qualifying offer. – Matt Gelb
Kyle Schwarber led the National League with 56 home runs in 2025. (Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)
Ranger Suárez, Phillies
In a thin starting-pitching market, Suárez should benefit by securing a lucrative multiyear deal from a team willing to overlook concerns about the lefty’s durability. He will reject the qualifying offer. – Gelb
Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers
The former New York Yankee signed with the Tigers on a one-year pillow deal last winter, hoping to boost his value and earn a $100 million deal in free agency. Torres played well for the Tigers, starting the All-Star Game at second base and finishing the first half with an .812 OPS. Torres’ performance declined in the second half, likely due to the fact that he was playing through a hernia for at least the final month. Torres had surgery to repair the injury after the season. Despite hitting just .223 after the All-Star break, Torres finished as a 2.6 fWAR player. His .358 on-base percentage was the best of his career. His fielding and base running remain below average, but saw slight improvements in 2025. He has tremendous plate discipline and walked at a 13.5 percent clip. Given his injury, though, it’s not impossible to see Torres accepting the qualifying offer and again attempting to rebuild his earning potential. Next year will be only his age-29 season. — Cody Stavenhagen
Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs
Still the consensus No. 1 player in this class of free agents, Tucker is coming off an injury-plagued season that nevertheless resulted in his fourth All-Star selection and seventh consecutive trip to the playoffs. Rejecting the qualifying offer is a mere formality for Tucker, an elite left-handed hitter who can produce double-digit stolen bases and bring Gold Glove defense to right field. Heading into an age-29 season, an enormous annual salary will be part of this next contract. The question is whether Tucker can command the kind of extremely long-term deal — a commitment for around a decade — that franchises have recently awarded the top free agents. — Mooney
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
Valdez is the definition of durability and has dominated on the sport’s biggest stage. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2020, Valdez has a 3.23 ERA across 973 innings. Only Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler has thrown more innings with a lower ERA across that same timeframe. Valdez cratered in the second half of his platform season — and his cross-up of rookie catcher César Salazar spurred controversy — but the 31-year-old southpaw should still decline the qualifying offer in hopes of approaching Max Fried’s record contract for a left-handed starter. — Chandler Rome
Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers are basically offering to pay Woodruff more than $30 million next season. Earlier in the week, Woodruff declined his end of a $20 million mutual option and received a $10 million buyout. Now, the Brewers have added a qualifying offer north of $20 million. The total one-year payment would be massive for a soon-to-be 33-year-old who’s made just 23 starts the past three seasons. Before injuries got in the way, Woodruff was one of the game’s best starters from 2019 to 2023. He returned from shoulder surgery this July and made 12 good starts (3.20 ERA, 32.3 percent strikeout rate), but he finished the year back on the IL with a lat strain. Woodruff already turned down a $20 million deal for next season, but that one came with a $10 million pillow. Accepting the qualifying offer should be far more enticing. — Jennings