Eight players have received a $23.15MM qualifying offer, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. They are Randy Arozarena of the Mariners, Jake Bauers of the Brewers, David Bednar of the Yankees, Ryan Jeffers of the Twins, Brandon Lowe of the Pirates, Adrián Morejón of the Padres, Trevor Rogers of the Orioles and Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs.
As a refresher, teams are allowed to issue a one-year QO to an impending free agent as long as he spent the entire walk year with that club and has not previously received a QO in his career. The value is determined by averaging the salaries of the 125 top-paid players in the league. Players have until 3 pm Central on November 17 to decide whether to accept or reject. In the meantime, they are free to discuss contracts with other clubs, getting a sense of their market potential before making a decision.
If the player signs elsewhere, the club is then entitled to draft pick compensation. The player’s new club would be subject to penalties, certainly including draft pick forfeiture and potentially the forfeiture of international bonus pool space as well.
Most of the names are not surprising. Back in September, MLBTR took a look at the hitters and pitchers we expected to receive a QO. Rogers, Arozarena and Suzuki were characterized as locks. Jeffers and Lowe were also framed as likely recipients, with the slight hesitation due to the spending history of their respective clubs, rather than any lack of talent on the part of the players.
Bednar and Morejón were framed as borderline. Both are extremely talented but it’s more rare for a reliever to receive a QO, compared to players at other positions. Bednar has had some shaky moments in his career but has pitched well enough of late to ultimately end up with the QO.
Morejón has a spotty injury history but has been dominant for three years now. He finished the season questionable, as he was unavailable for San Diego’s final playoff games due to some shoulder “stickiness”. The fact that the Padres felt comfortable issuing him the QO perhaps indicates they aren’t worried about his shoulder.
It might also be a good indicator about the club’s finances under new ownership. The club’s payroll seemed to hit a wall in 2023. Then-owner Peter Seidler died late that year and the Padres seemingly worked around financial constraints in subsequent offseasons. The Seidler family sold the club to José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones in August, so this will be the first offseason under the new regime.
Bauers is the most surprising name to be on this list. MLBTR identified him as a long shot in September. His 2026 season was excellent and he played a key role in Milwaukee’s World Series run. However, his larger track record has been really spotty and he was a fringe journeyman not too long ago.
Bauers played for the Rays, Guardians, Mariners and Yankees before landing with the Brewers. At the end of the 2024 season, he had a career batting line of .208/.302/.361. He was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for an arbitration salary of $2.3MM. Instead, the Brewers put him on outright waivers and the 29 other clubs passed on him. He became a free agent.
He would later tell Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was going to retire at that time while his wife would return to full-time teaching. But when she became pregnant, Bauers decided to keep playing because they needed health insurance. He re-signed with the Brewers on a minor league deal. He cracked the Opening Day roster and had a decent season with an especially strong finish.
The Brewers felt good about how well Bauers hit in September and brought him back for 2026, giving him a $2.7MM deal to avoid arbitration. He went on to have a monster campaign, hitting 26 home runs and drawing walks at a 16.3% pace. He slashed .266/.389/.484 for a 143 wRC+. Only six qualified hitters had a higher wRC+ this year. He even fared well against lefties, something he had never done before. His playoff performance was mixed, as he won NLCS MVP honors but cooled off in the World Series.
It was a great season but it’s still surprising to see the Brewers offer him such a huge raise. The club has not been a big spender, historically speaking. Bauers wasn’t even worth a major league deal two years ago. Of the eight players here, Bauers feels like the one with the best chance to accept. Since he made just $2.7MM this year, he would almost be multiplying that by ten. That’s hard to turn down unless he gets a really healthy multi-year offer.
Perhaps Bauers accepting the QO is an arrangement everyone is comfortable with. The Brewers are riding high after their championship and might have some extra cash to play with. They don’t have huge holes elsewhere on the roster. Bauers could hold down first base for another year, by which time it’s possible that someone like Andrew Fischer is ready to make the leap from the minor leagues.
Bauers will certainly have interest from other clubs. The free agent market is lacking impact bats and he is one of them. The track record isn’t long but his 2026 season was excellent. But time will tell if any club is willing to both pay Bauers on a hefty multi-year deal while also forfeiting at least one draft pick. He has a couple of weeks to talk things over with clubs before making the call.
In terms of snubs, there were no real shocks. MLBTR’s September write-up characterized Jazz Chisholm Jr. as a borderline case but recent reporting indicated the Yankees planned to extend the QO to Bednar and not Chisholm. For Chisholm, that’s a benefit, as teams interest in signing him won’t have to worry about the QO penalties. Ian Happ, Ty France and Michael Soroka are some other players who will benefit from not being tied to the QO.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
