MLB Free Agency: Who could accept the qualifying offer?

These Guys Could Be The First

It would make a ton of sense for each of these guys to accept their qualifying offer. Will they? Probably not because baseball is weird. But if anyone does, I’d be willing to bet it’s one of these five.

1. Colby Rasmus: He is quite possibly the most intriguing case. It would make sense for him to reject the qualifying offer. He put up good numbers in Houston and he’s likely going to get paid for doing so. Rasmus has a very marketable skill in his power. It might make more sense for him to accept it. He’s in one of the best possible parks for a home run hitter to play in. He’s with a team that clearly values him. Rasmus likely wants to be somewhere that will give him the security of a multi-year deal. Why not gamble on having another solid year in Houston and potentially enter next offseason as one of the best outfielders on the market? He’s likely not getting over $12,000,000 a year this offseason anyway.
2. Marco Estrada: Estrada is starting to age a bit. He had a solid year, but that solid year was a fairly obvious outlier as opposed to the norm for him. He’s a middle of the rotation arm when he’s good and deserving of mop-up duty when he’s bad. I think some team is going to be sold on him as a middle of the rotation guy. But why not stay in Toronto? Unless the Giants or Padres sign him, he’s likely not going to find himself in a more pitcher-friendly park. If I were him, I’d take the qualifying offer and cash in next offseason. Risky? Sure. But $15,800,000 a season is more than he’d get this offseason.
3. Brett Anderson: Here’s a guy who the Dodgers perhaps wouldn’t mind if he accepted his qualifying offer. He has a tendency to get injured. When he’s healthy, he’s an intriguing middle of the rotation arm who has shown flashes of being a little bit more than just your average arm. He likely gets two years and $12,000,000 a season. But if he likes California, then why not take $15,800,000 to stay there? Especially since if he declines the qualifying offer, the only teams that will come calling are the those with protected picks?
4. Ian Kennedy: Why did he get a qualifying offer again? Ah. His agent is Scott Boras. THAT’S why. He’s a middle of the rotation arm at best. Teams could easily find a better and cheaper option than Kennedy if that’s what they want. He could struggle to find himself a job with that qualifying offer tied to him. Boras wouldn’t like it, but man, Kennedy would love to get paid $15,800,000 for one season to continue to be mediocre rather than risk not finding a job.
5. Jeff Samardzija: Shark is the most likely candidate to become the first MLB player to accept his qualifying offer. He needs to rebuild his value after a rough year in Chicago. He’s not getting more than $15,800,000 a season at this point, and he’ll be lucky if he can get $12,000,000 a season. He’s way too good to have another horrible year. He still probably declines it at the request of his agent, but if there’s a guy whose agent could persuade to actually take the qualifying offer, it’s probably Samardzija. Makes so much sense for him.