MLB qualifying offer explained

With MLB free agency really heating up and guys landing with new teams, here’s an MLB qualifying offer explainer for fans. 

At 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the deadline will officially arrive for players who have been extended an MLB qualifying offer. We’ve already seen some star players reject those offers, with Noah Syndergaard bolting New York to sign with the Los Angeles Angels, while Eduardo Rodriguez said goodbye to Boston to join the Detroit Tigers.

So, how does the MLB qualifying offer exactly work? If you’re confused, we’ve got the info for you below.

MLB qualifying offer deadline arrives on Wednesday evening

When it comes to the MLB qualifying offer, a club puts out a one-year deal on the table to a player who could potentially leave in free agency. The sum of that contract would be the average of the 125 highest-paid players in the bigs.

For 2021, that means a qualifying offer extended would be worth $18.4 million. In order for a player to be eligible to receive this tender, he couldn’t have received a qualifying offer in the past and he needed to be on that team’s roster for the entirety of the previous campaign.

So, if a player was acquired in the middle of the season, a qualifying offer can’t be extended. If a player ends up signing elsewhere, his former club is eligible for draft pick compensation too.

If said player signs for more than $50 million, then the team who lost the player would be eligible to receive a first-round pick. If he signs for less than that amount, that draft pick would come following the second round.