In a significant shake-up in Major League Baseball, 136 players, including notable outfielder Juan Soto and renowned pitchers Corbin Burnes, Walker Buehler, and Max Fried, joined the ranks of free agents as of Thursday morning.
Prominent third baseman Alex Bregman, as well as outfielder Anthony Santander and shortstop Willy Adames, also became free agents during this period.
There are an additional 64 players currently facing impending decisions regarding their options, which could lead them to enter free agency by Monday, the fifth day following the World Series.
The window for teams and players to begin discussing potential contract terms will open at 5:01 p.m. EST on Monday. This follows the deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers worth $21.05 million to eligible free agents.
One notable case is pitcher Justin Verlander, who has entered free agency after failing to reach the 140-inning mark this season. Achieving this threshold would have allowed him to activate a conditional player option worth $35 million. If he had opted to do so, the New York Mets would have had to pay an additional $17.5 million to the Houston Astros—a stipulation tied to last season’s trade that saw the three-time Cy Young Award winner return to Houston.
The St. Louis Cardinals opted against extending contracts to three right-handed pitchers: Kyle Gibson ($12 million), Lance Lynn ($10 million), and Keynan Middleton ($6 million). Each of these players will receive a buyout of $1 million.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers announced that they declined a $12 million mutual option on pitcher Wade Miley, who is still in recovery from Tommy John surgery that he underwent last May.
Some players with pending club options include Marcell Ozuna (designated hitter, Atlanta – $16 million), as well as Yankees third baseman Anthony Rizzo ($17 million) and reliever Luke Weaver ($2.5 million).
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole has the opportunity to opt out of his current contract. However, New York could negate this opt-out option by offering him a salary of $36 million for the 2029 season.
Players who hold options include pitchers such as Blake Snell of San Francisco ($30 million, with $15 million deferred), Nick Martinez of Cincinnati ($12 million), Sean Manaea of the New York Mets ($13.5 million), Jordan Montgomery of Arizona ($22.5 million), Nathan Eovaldi of Texas ($20 million), and Michael Wacha of Kansas City ($16 million). Additionally, Cody Bellinger of the Chicago Cubs is also in the mix, holding a $27.5 million option.
Interestingly, both Snell and Jack Flaherty are ineligible to receive qualifying offers. A qualifying offer can only be extended to a free agent if they have remained with the same team from the start of the season and have not previously received a qualifying offer.
Since the implementation of qualifying offers after the 2012 season, only 13 of 131 such offers have ever been accepted, demonstrating the rarity and strategic importance of these decisions in the league.
Prominent third baseman Alex Bregman, as well as outfielder Anthony Santander and shortstop Willy Adames, also became free agents during this period.
There are an additional 64 players currently facing impending decisions regarding their options, which could lead them to enter free agency by Monday, the fifth day following the World Series.
The window for teams and players to begin discussing potential contract terms will open at 5:01 p.m. EST on Monday. This follows the deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers worth $21.05 million to eligible free agents.
One notable case is pitcher Justin Verlander, who has entered free agency after failing to reach the 140-inning mark this season. Achieving this threshold would have allowed him to activate a conditional player option worth $35 million. If he had opted to do so, the New York Mets would have had to pay an additional $17.5 million to the Houston Astros—a stipulation tied to last season’s trade that saw the three-time Cy Young Award winner return to Houston.
The St. Louis Cardinals opted against extending contracts to three right-handed pitchers: Kyle Gibson ($12 million), Lance Lynn ($10 million), and Keynan Middleton ($6 million). Each of these players will receive a buyout of $1 million.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Brewers announced that they declined a $12 million mutual option on pitcher Wade Miley, who is still in recovery from Tommy John surgery that he underwent last May.
Some players with pending club options include Marcell Ozuna (designated hitter, Atlanta – $16 million), as well as Yankees third baseman Anthony Rizzo ($17 million) and reliever Luke Weaver ($2.5 million).
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole has the opportunity to opt out of his current contract. However, New York could negate this opt-out option by offering him a salary of $36 million for the 2029 season.
Players who hold options include pitchers such as Blake Snell of San Francisco ($30 million, with $15 million deferred), Nick Martinez of Cincinnati ($12 million), Sean Manaea of the New York Mets ($13.5 million), Jordan Montgomery of Arizona ($22.5 million), Nathan Eovaldi of Texas ($20 million), and Michael Wacha of Kansas City ($16 million). Additionally, Cody Bellinger of the Chicago Cubs is also in the mix, holding a $27.5 million option.
Interestingly, both Snell and Jack Flaherty are ineligible to receive qualifying offers. A qualifying offer can only be extended to a free agent if they have remained with the same team from the start of the season and have not previously received a qualifying offer.
Since the implementation of qualifying offers after the 2012 season, only 13 of 131 such offers have ever been accepted, demonstrating the rarity and strategic importance of these decisions in the league.