Explaining the Qualifying Offer & Who is Eligible

Every offseason, some free agents are eligible for a qualifying offer–a one-year deal for a set amount of money to return to their team from the season prior. The value of that contract is calculated by averaging the salaries of the 125 highest-paid players in the majors. For 2026, the qualifying offer will be worth $22.025 million.

Teams have until five days after the conclusion of the World Series to extend qualifying offers. Players have until November 18 at 4:00 pm EST to accept the offer. It’s very rare that a player accepts a qualifying offer – only 14 of 114 recipients of the offer have done so, and Reds hurler Nick Martinez was the only player to accept the deal of the 13 recipients in the 2024-25 offseason. The only Mets player to accept a qualifying offer are Marcus Stroman after the 2020 season and Neil Walker following the 2016 season.

Who isn’t Eligible?

Players who have previously received a qualifying offer or didn’t spend a full season in an organization before free agency aren’t eligible to be tendered a qualifying offer. That means Mets slugger Pete Alonso isn’t eligible to get a QO because he received one last offseason and declined it.

Notably, 3B Eugenio Suárez, 1B Josh Naylor, 3B Alex Bregman, RHP Shane Bieber and OF Cody Bellinger are among the top free agents this offseason who cannot receive the qualifying offer.

Who is Eligible?

All free agents except the players mentioned above. For the Mets, the most notable player is star closer Edwin Díaz. That is with the assumption he will decide to opt-out of the three remaining years he has on his contract with the Mets.

Starters Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez are among the free agent pitchers expected to get the QO this offseason. On the position player side, Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber and Bo Bichette are all likely to receive the QO.

Other names to watch: RHP Brandon Woodruff, RHP Zac Gallen, Michael King, OF Trent Grisham and LHP Shota Imanaga.

What Does Compensation Look Like?

If a player declines a qualifying offer and signs elsewhere, their previous team is entitled to a draft pick as compensation, which varies based on their payroll. Since the Mets pay a competitive balance tax, their compensatory pick would fall after the fourth round. For example, the Mets received a comp pick for Jacob deGrom because he received and declined the QO, and eventually signed with the Rangers. The Mets used that pick on A.J. Ewing, who is now a top 100 prospect in baseball.

On the other hand, if a team signs a player from another roster that has a qualifying offer attached, they must surrender at least one draft pick and potentially some international bonus money. The Mets would have to give up their second and fifth-highest draft picks and $1 million from their international bonus pool. The Mets had to do this last year when they signed Juan Soto. If they sign multiple players tied to a qualifying offer, they would also surrender their third and sixth-highest draft picks.

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