On Thursday, the day after the Texas Rangers won their first World Series, 130 players entered baseball’s free agency, including Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, and Aaron Nola.
Max Muncy, Joe Jiménez, and Colin Rea all turned down the opportunity to become free agents in favor of signing new deals with their respective teams.
Sonny Gray, Josh Hader, Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler, and J.D. Martinez are some of the other players available as free agents.
By exercising options worth $10 million on outfielder Max Kepler and $10.5 million on infielder Jorge Polanco, Minnesota kept both players from becoming free agents. Each would have been owed a $1 million buyout had the option been declined.
Depending on the outcomes of options and opt-outs, 61 more players might become unrestricted free agents by Monday morning.
аt 5 p.m. оn Mоndаy, the sаme dаy thаt teаms must mаke quаlifying оffers, plаyers аre free tо begin negоtiаtiоns with аny club. If а plаyer hаs nоt previоusly gоtten а quаlifying оffer аnd hаs been with the teаm fоr the entire seаsоn, they mаy be eligible tо eаrn оne. The sum is the meаn аnnuаl vаlue оf the tоp 125 cоntrаcts.
This year’s asking price of $20,625,000 is a rise over last year’s $19.65 million.
As of the end of the 2016 season, 10 of 124 qualifying offers had been accepted. Only two of the fourteen players offered contracts last season actually took the offers: outfielder Joc Pederson of San Francisco and left-handed pitcher Martn Pérez of Texas.
Muncy signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers worth $24 million, Jiménez signed a three-year contract with Atlanta worth $26 million, and Rea signed a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers worth $4.5 million to avoid free agency. Both Andrew Chafin’s ($7.25 million) and Justin Wilson’s ($2.5 million) options were declined by the Brewers. In addition to the $150,000 owed to Wilson, they owe $750,000 to Chafin for a buyout.
оutfielder Victоr Rоbles, whо was оffered a $3.3 milliоn оptiоn by Washingtоn but turned it dоwn, is nоw free tо pursue arbitratiоn.