MLB qualifying offer: Bo Bichette gets QO, more players expected to receive one-year, $22M contract offer • CBS Sports Headlines

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Thursday, Nov. 6, marks an important date on Major League Baseball’s offseason calendar: the qualifying offer deadline.

Each offseason, certain free agents are eligible for the qualifying offer (QO). Those eligible free agents are ones who have never before received the QO and who spent the prior season with only one team (e.g., players traded during the season cannot receive the QO). The QO is set as the average of the top 125 salaries for a given year, and for the 2025-26 offseason it’s $22.205 million. Eligible players who accept the QO will play the 2026 season under that salary and those who turn it down become free agents, albeit with the QO attached. That attachment means that the free agent’s former team is entitled to compensation in the form of an additional draft pick. The position of that draft pick depends upon the team’s status when it comes to the luxury tax and revenue-sharing debits or credits. On the other side, a team that signs a free agent with a QO attached is penalized with the loss of a draft pick, and just as the compensation format the position of that draft pick depends upon the signing team’s classification when it comes to the luxury tax and revenue sharing.

MLB qualifying offer: Predicting which players will receive the QO and how the $22 million deal works

Mike Axisa

Most QO decisions are obvious. Premium free agents receive one without much thought, just as the much less coveted class of free agents do not. It’s in the middle ground that interesting decisions lie — first on the club side and then, if offered, on the player side. Players presented with a QO this offseason will have until 4 p.m. ET. on Nov. 18 to accept or reject the offer. Those who accept in essence agree to a one-year contract for 2026 and those who reject proceed into free agency.

Below you’ll find a rundown of every player who received a QO before Thursday’s deadline.

Bo Bichette, Blue Jays

As one of the most coveted free agents on the market, Bichette was a lock to receive the QO from the Blue Jays, the team with which he’s spent his entire career, and indeed that’s what happened. The 27-year-old shortstop enjoyed a strong rebound season in 2025 after a down year in 2024. For his career, Bichette boasts an OPS+ of 121 and a WAR of 21.0 across parts of seven MLB seasons.