This year a record 20 free agents received a qualifying offer valued at $15.8 million for one season and 16 of them declined it, hitting the open market.
Astros outfielder Colby Rasmus, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters, and Dodgers left-hander Brett Anderson accepted the one-year, $15.8 million offer to remain with their previous teams and Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada agreed to a two-year, $26 million deal prior to the accept/decline deadline.
Before this year no free agent had ever accepted a qualifying offer, so this represents a big shift in the process.
Below you’ll find the full lists.
ACCEPTED:
Brett Anderson, Dodgers
Colby Rasmus, Astros
Matt Wieters, Orioles
BYPASSED WITH MULTI-YEAR DEAL:
Marco Estrada, Blue Jays
DECLINED:
Wei-Yin Chen, Orioles
Chris Davis, Orioles
Ian Desmond, Nationals
Dexter Fowler, Cubs
Yovani Gallardo, Rangers
Alex Gordon, Royals
Zack Greinke, Dodgers
Jason Heyward, Cardinals
Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners
Howie Kendrick, Dodgers
Ian Kennedy, Padres
John Lackey, Cardinals
Daniel Murphy, Mets
Jeff Samardzija, White Sox
Justin Upton, Padres
Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals
Each of the 16 free agents to decline the qualifying offer now have draft pick compensation attached to signing them, which in some cases could significantly hurt their number of interested suitors.