Thirteen players were extended qualifying offers on Monday and will have one week to accept or decline a one year salary of about $14.1 million dollars.
If a player denies their qualifying offer, any team who signs that player and has a pick from 12-30 in the first round, will forfeit its pick.
Picks 1-11 are protected this season since the Blue Jays failed to sign a top ten pick last season.
Here are the players under those restrictions this off season:
1. Carlos Beltran: Beltran hit 24 Home Runs to compliment a .296/.339 line with the national league champion Cardinals. He is a strong candidate to accept his offer since he is unlikely to beat this deal elsewhere and he can remain with St. Louis to try to chase a World Series ring.
2. Robinson Cano: As a 31-year-old and the best Free Agent on the market, Robinson Cano is guaranteed to turn down his qualifying offer. The Yankees will either resign him or they will gain a compensation pick at the end of the first round.
3. Shin-Soo Choo: At 31-years old and as a 20 home run bat with a .423 OBP, Choo is guaranteed to turn down his offer. He may be the best all around long-term outfielder with age, durability and talent all taken into account.
4. Nelson Cruz: Mired in injuries and a steroid suspension, Cruz has played in more than 128 games in a season just once in his career. He may be a candidate to accept his offer and hit Free Agency as a 34-year-old at the end of 2014 after a full season to regain his value.
5. Stephen Drew: Drew has had an OBP over .326 and hit more than 15 HR just once in his career. At 30-years-old, he’s not a slam dunk to accept or reject his offer, but he would undoubtedly be one of the worst values in exchange for losing its first round pick to a new team should he turn down his offer and sign elsewhere.
6. Jacoby Ellsbury: A 30-year-old Scott Boras client, coming off a World Championship and with a natural replacement waiting for the Red Sox, Ellsbury is guaranteed to turn his offer down, gain the Sox a pick and get himself paid.
7. Curtis Granderson: One of three Yankees, Granderson was hit by two different pitches and missed most of the season. There’s an outside chance he accepts his offer, but will still likely turn it down since he can do a lot better than $14.1 million on the open market, even with a draft pick riding on it.
8. Ubaldo Jimenez: Jimenez will turn 30-years-old in January and is coming off a season with a 3.30 ERA, 9.6K/9 and 182.2 innings, his most since 2010. Expect Jimenez to easily turn down his offer and seek a long-term deal in Free Agency.
9. Hiroki Kuroda: Kuroda is only seeking one year deals at this stage if he decides to stay in the states. Still, by accepting the offer he would be taking almost a one million dollar pay cut despite being the Yankees’ ace. He will turn this down, but may not go anywhere in the US except the Bronx.
10. Brian McCann: McCann will be 30-years-old before Opening Day but as the top catcher in Free Agency, he will get a long-term deal somewhere for a lot more than his qualifying offer. No chance he accepts and he’s unlikely to return to Atlanta.
11. Kendrys Morales: The 30-year-old already took his one year deal to boost value in 2013 and he responded with 23 home runs, 80 RBI and a .277/.336 line. Morales will turn down his offer and sign a multi-year deal elsewhere.
12. Mike Napoli: The final of the three Red Sox and like Ellsbury, Napoli is going to turn down his qualifying offer. Unlike Ellsbury, it’s very likely Napoli signs a multi-year deal to return to Boston.
13. Ervin Santana: For a starter turning 31-years-old Santana is very likely to cash in on a 3.24 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 211 innings. There is no chance this offer is accepted and Santana will sign a multi-year deal.
