The qualifying offer deadline has come and gone, and, as expected, the Chicago Cubs made the one-year, $17.4 million offer to outgoing free agents Jake Arrieta and Wade Davis.
The duo will have 10 days to decide whether to accept or reject the offer. When they reject the offer, they will be attached to draft pick compensation for the offseason (a team signing them (besides the Cubs) will lose a draft pick and IFA pool space (the particulars of which depend on the team – full details here)).
From there, if they sign with a new team, the Cubs will receive compensation for their departure, in the form of a draft pick (and the associated pool space) after the second round. It’s less than the Cubs would have received under the prior CBA, but, hey, it’s not nothing.
As for the other players today receiving a qualifying offer, we know that Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn are getting them, and other names will trickle out shortly. I’ll update here when there’s a full list.
UPDATE: The full list of nine players to whom qualifying offers were made today:
It’s a small group this year, reflective both of the reduced value a team receives when a qualified free agent walks, and also of a thinner free agent class.
Of this group, you could plausibly see the Cubs tied to Cobb, Holland, and Lynn, in addition to Arrieta and Davis.