Of the 13 players that were given one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offers, four accepted by Tuesday’s deadline, including outfielder Trent Grisham of the New York Yankees.
Among those that rejected the offer was Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies, who remains a free agent after hitting a National League-best 56 home runs last season while finishing second in NL MVP voting.
Detroit Tigers infielder Gleyber Torres, Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff and Chicago Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga also accepted the offer and are officially considered free agent signings by their current teams.
Players to reject the offer and remain free agents, in addition to Schwarber, were Chiago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker, Toronto Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette, Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez, Phillies left-hander Ranger Suarez, New York Mets right-hander Edwin Diaz, Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen and a pair of San Diego Padres right-handers in Dylan Cease and Michael King.
Grisham, 29, batted .239 with a career-high 34 home runs for the Yankees last season, his second in New York and his seventh MLB season. Torres, 28, batted .256 with 16 home runs and 74 RBIs for the Tigers last season after playing his first seven seasons with the Yankees.
Woodruff, 32, was 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA in just 12 starts last season after returning from shoulder surgery that cost him the entire 2024 season. Imanaga, 32, was 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA over 25 starts in his second season with the Cubs after arriving from Japan.
Tucker, Schwarber, Cease and Diaz could end up as the most desired players on the free agent market. Tucker, 28, batted .266 with 22 home runs and 73 RBIs in 136 games with the Cubs.
Cease, 29, is toward the front of a talented cast of free agent starting pitchers after going 8-12 with a 4.55 ERA in 32 starts with the Padres last season. Diaz, 31, had a 1.63 ERA with 28 saves in 62 appearances for the Mets last season.
