Rarely does a qualifying offer catch everyone by surprise, but the Rockies just did that by making one to Michael Cuddyer.
Cuddyer hit .307 with an .886 OPS in three seasons for the Rockies, but he also missed 206 of a possible 486 games, including playing just 49 games this season. He’s a 36-year-old corner outfielder/first baseman who rates poorly defensively and ... well, $15.3 million is a lot.
It seems pretty obvious that Cuddyer should accept the one-year, $15.3 million contract and return to the Rockies for another season, because if he declines the number of teams interested in giving him a big contract and losing a draft pick to do so figures to be very, very limited.