This is not good news for clubs who want to retain stars, or teams who want to bid for free agents because the price of the game is going up, again.
The Associated Press has calculated the value of the free agent qualifying offer will rise from $14.1
million last off season to $15.3 million this off season, which means
teams hoping to receive draft pick compensation for losing a free agent
will need to risk the player accepting a one-year deal for that amount.
Last offseason zero of the 22 players who received $14.1 million
qualifying offers accepted them, although several players who turned
them down and ended up regretting the decision later.
The price of the qualifying offer is the average salary of the 125
highest-paid players in baseball and since being introduced in 2012 has
risen from $13.3 million to $14.1 million to $15.3 million.
Among the free agents who seem like good bets to receive qualifying offers this winter: Max Scherzer, James Shields, Hanley Ramirez, Victor Martinez, Pablo Sandoval, J.J. Hardy, Russell Martin, Melky Cabrera, Nelson Cruz, David Robertson.
Impending free agents who were traded during the season (Jon Lester, for example) are not eligible to receive qualifying offers.
The question becomes to the current team is a Scherzer worth more than $15.3 million per year? And for other clubs, is a Russell Martin worth $15.3 million a season if he turns down the Pirates qualifying offer? It seems the price has edged to the balancing point where clubs are hesitant to go either way.
