Welcome again to High of the Order, the place each Tuesday and Friday I’ll be beginning your baseball day with some information, notes, and ideas concerning the sport we love.
Tight playoff races, milestone and award chases, and looking forward to the offseason — these are the issues I really like about September baseball. One of many first choices to be made after the World Sequence is figuring out who will obtain qualifying gives, which at the moment tasks to be valued at $21.2 million.
As a fast reminder earlier than we proceed, the qualifying supply is ready at a value of the imply common annual worth of the 125 highest-AAV gamers within the league. As soon as it’s provided to a participant, he has 10 days to resolve whether or not to just accept or decline the supply. If the participant accepts, he’s locked into 2025 at that wage, although he can all the time negotiate a contract extension which will override the qualifying supply. If the participant declines and indicators with a brand new workforce, his new workforce will forfeit no less than one 2025 draft choose, and his previous workforce will obtain precisely one ’25 draft choose.
With lower than three weeks left within the common season, let’s run by way of which pending free brokers could possibly be getting qualifying gives come November.
Locks to Obtain Qualifying Presents
These choices are all simple. Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes, Alex Bregman, Max Fried, Willy Adames, Pete Alonso, Anthony Santander, Jurickson Profar, Teoscar Hernández, and Sean Manaea (as soon as he workouts his decide out) are all having seasons someplace between sturdy and elite. They’re all positive to reject the supply in favor of longer-term offers.
Prone to Obtain, Believable to Settle for
Paul Goldschmidt is a troublesome act to observe, however Christian Walker has performed properly since taking up for him after the Diamondbacks traded Goldschmidt to the Cardinals in December 2018. Walker has been particularly nice the final three years, with 10.9 WAR, a 122 wRC+, and glorious protection at first base. He’s not spectacular, however he’s superb, and if the Diamondbacks are positive with operating a file payroll once more, they’d be smart to maintain him round.
Walker’s received one massive disadvantage, although: his age. Subsequent yr can be his age-34 season, and whereas he’d definitely prefer to earn a multi-year deal in free company, the qualifying supply would possibly tamp down his market to the purpose that accepting it will internet him extra money in 2025. He additionally may not wish to threat rejecting it, hanging out on the open marketplace for months, after which having to signal a prove-it deal. He’s a core member of a workforce that went to the World Sequence final yr, is nearly definitely going to return to the playoffs once more this season, and is constructed to contend subsequent yr, too. Moreover, he appears comfy within the desert. For all of those causes, he’s in all probability the participant most probably to return to his workforce on a qualifying supply.
Prone to Obtain, Prone to Reject
Tyler O’Neill has popped 30 dwelling runs in his finest and healthiest season since 2021, together with his wRC+ only one level away from tying that profession yr. On the floor, that makes him seem to be a slam dunk to obtain the qualifying supply, and a slam dunk to reject it. He’s coming into his age-30 season, and coming off his sturdy efficiency this yr, he might look to get a three- or four-year deal on the open market. The one factor that provides me pause, although, is O’Neill’s harm historical past and the way which may affect groups’ willingness to supply him a multi-year deal price a median annual worth of roughly $20 million. Understanding this, if the Pink Sox give O’Neill the qualifying supply, he might resolve it’s in his finest curiosity to just accept it. In the meantime, Boston may not wish to pay him $22.1 million subsequent yr, as a substitute opting to make use of that cash to bolster different areas of its roster. I nonetheless assume the Pink Sox will lengthen him a qualifying supply, and that he’ll flip it down, however it’s not a positive factor.
There’s an argument to be made that Michael Wacha is having the perfect season of his profession; it’s positively his healthiest since 2017. Offered he avoids harm the remainder of the way in which, he’ll eschew his $16 million participant possibility in favor of hitting the open market as soon as once more, leaving the Royals with a troublesome resolution. On the one hand, this model of Wacha is price $22.1 million; on the opposite, the harm considerations don’t simply go away simply because he’s been largely wholesome this yr. As unlikely as Wacha can be to just accept, the Royals may also want to get rid of any likelihood that he’d achieve this and as a substitute allocate that cash to elongate their lineup. Having a rotation anchored by Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo would make dropping Wacha a neater tablet to swallow.
Complete Toss-Ups
If Ha-Seong Kim had reached free company earlier than this season as a substitute of after it, he in all probability would have earned a deal of no less than $100 million following his 4.3 WAR, 110 wRC+ marketing campaign in 2023. However proper shoulder irritation might maintain him on the sidelines for the remainder of the season, and his run values as a hitter, fielder, and baserunner have all gone down significantly in 2024. That stated, even on this down yr, he’s put up 2.6 WAR and remains to be solely 28; that’s in all probability price $22.1 million. Nevertheless, contemplating the Padres have a glut of infielders already, they could not wish to give Kim the choice to just accept a qualifying supply.
Luis Severino is having his healthiest season since 2018, when he put up 5.4 WAR throughout 191 1/3 innings, made the All-Star workforce, and obtained Cy Younger votes because the ace of the Yankees. However he’s a totally completely different pitcher now than he was then. His velocity remains to be there, however he not has the swing-and-miss stuff to anchor a rotation. Even with the Mets anticipated to lose two different starters to free company, I don’t assume they’d wish to pay him the wage of a no. 2 starter when, at this level, he profiles extra like a no. 3 or 4.
There could also be no starter within the league extra enigmatic than Nick Pivetta. The stuff has all the time been nice, however the command has been … much less so. I’m of the opinion that he’d do surprisingly properly on the open market, and in my head I’m evaluating him to Yusei Kikuchi, who received three years and $36 million from the Blue Jays coming off a equally uneven (and doubtless worse) few years. However the Pink Sox have already got Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, and Lucas Giolito (assuming he recovers properly from inner brace surgical procedure) locked into subsequent yr’s rotation, and so they could make investments the $22.1 million elsewhere.
Unlikely to Obtain
For different groups, I’d say that it will be a no brainer to increase Shane Bieber a qualifying supply, however $22.1 million is some huge cash for the Guardians. If Bieber have been to just accept it, he might symbolize 20% or extra of their payroll for 2025, and he may not be obtainable till the second half of the season anyway after present process Tommy John surgical procedure in April. Contemplating his observe file and the way properly he pitched in his first couple begins of the season, a multi-year deal at a decrease common annual worth — with the money backloaded fairly closely — must be simple for Bieber to safe.
There aren’t any pending free agent relievers with the pedigree of Josh Hader, who was an apparent qualifying supply recipient and rejector final offseason. Clay Holmes began his season pitching like he’d find yourself receiving one, however he’s misplaced his nearer job and has in all probability worn out his welcome in New York, frankly. On the opposite aspect of the coin is Jeff Hoffman, who’s been nothing in need of glorious for 2 seasons in Philadelphia. However he’s coming into his age-32 season and doesn’t have almost the observe file of different relievers who’ve obtained qualifying gives up to now. I’d be shocked if he will get one.
Ineligible to Obtain
As a reminder, gamers who’ve appeared for a number of groups in the identical season are ineligible to be tendered a qualifying supply. That eliminates Kikuchi and Jack Flaherty. Additionally ineligible are gamers who’ve obtained one up to now, in order that guidelines out Joc Pederson, Max Scherzer, Nathan Eovaldi (assuming he declines his participant possibility), Cody Bellinger (ditto), and, ought to he decide out, Gerrit Cole.
