The free agency pool heading into the Major League Baseball offseason is almost as flush as it could possibly be.
According to a report from ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, only one player accepted his qualifying offer. First baseman Brandon Belt will be staying with the San Francisco Giants on a one-year, $18.4 million deal.
That makes sense for Belt and the Giants, who just led the majors with a 107-win season. However, there were plenty of MLB players who decided not to take that route.
Jeff Passan published a full listed of players who rejected their team’s qualifying offer. Here’s the full list from Passan:
Nick Castellanos, Michael Conforto, Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, Raisel Iglesias, Robbie Ray, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, Chris Taylor, Justin Verlander
Here’s the news from the MLB insider.
Final tally for the one-year, $18.4M qualifying offer, per sources:
Accepted: Brandon Belt.
Rejected: Nick Castellanos, Michael Conforto, Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, Raisel Iglesias, Robbie Ray, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Trevor Story, Chris Taylor, Justin Verlander.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 17, 2021
Several teams have already expressed interest in both Carlos Correa and pitcher Justin Verlander. Over the next few weeks and months, many of these players could find a new landing spot – or sign a new deal with their own teams.
Brandon Belt, though, won’t have to worry about those negotiations.
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