SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Seven of Major League Baseball's most highly sought-after free agents were extended qualifying offers ahead of Monday's deadline, a list headlined by Los Angeles Angels two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani.
Others receiving the qualifying offer include starting pitchers Aaron Nola (Philadelphia Phillies), Blake Snell (San Diego Padres) and Sonny Gray (Minnesota Twins), third baseman Matt Chapman (Toronto Blue Jays), reliever Josh Hader (Padres) and center fielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger (Chicago Cubs), sources told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The qualifying offer is currently valued at $20.325 million. The players have until 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 14 to decide whether to return to their prior teams on a one-year deal for the value of the qualifying offer — calculated annually based on the mean salary of the sport's 125 highest-paid players — or venture into the free agent market.
Teams that sign free agents who rejected the qualifying offer must also give up draft-pick compensation and might also lose international bonus pool money, a circumstance that has had little to no impact on the top free agents but has limited the market for middle-tier players in the past.