Twelve MLBers Receive Qualifying Offers In System's Third Year

Twelve MLB free agents were given qualifying offers by yesterday's 5:00pm ET deadline, one less than last year’s number and three higher than the nine such offers given in the system’s first iteration in '12. The qualifying offers, equal to a one-year contract worth $15.3M, allow teams to gain a supplemental draft pick next June should the players elect to sign elsewhere. A qualifying offer has never been accepted.

In the system’s first two years of application, it has been heavily debated within baseball circles as several prior recipients have subsequently found their free agent markets curtailed and signed much later than anticipated and for less money. Players receiving qualifying offers have until Nov. 10 to decide whether to accept or reject. If they reject, they become free agents.