The Chicago Cubs have officially given qualifying offers to starting pitcher Jake Arrieta and closer Wade Davis.
This offseason’s qualifying offer is worth $17.4 million. That figure comes from the mean salary of the 125 highest-paid players in MLB.
#Cubs also (obviously) made qualifying offers to Jake Arrieta and Wade Davis to guarantee draft-pick compensation if they sign elsewhere.
— Patrick Mooney (@MooneyNBCS) November 6, 2017
Arrieta and Davis have until Nov. 16, to either accept or decline the qualifying offer from the Cubs. Obviously if they accept, they’ll be under contract for the 2018 season at the $17.4 million salary. If not, they’ll be made available for every team in MLB.
Anyway, the chances of Arrieta and Davis accepting the offers are slim to no chance in hell. Well, more so in the case of Arrieta, considering he’s one of the two best starting pitchers available this offseason. Davis, 32-years-old, won’t get more than the $17.4 million per year on any deal he signs, so there’s maybe a slight chance he accepts. However, he’ll most likely seek out some long-term security.
For reference, the biggest contracts for closers are:
- Aroldis Chapman: 5 years, $86 million
- Kenley Jansen: 5 years, $80 million
- Mark Melancon: 4 years, $62 million
Meanwhile, Arrieta will also be 32-years-old for the 2018 season, and this will be his last chance to get his big payday. Despite a slow beginning to his 2017 season, Arrieta bounced back and with a few other starting pitchers choosing not to opt out of their contracts, Arrieta is in line to get big offers.
The upside, the Cubs could receive a few extra picks in the 2018 draft. Here’s a breakdown of how that could play out, depending where Davis and Arrieta sign, if they do indeed sign elsewhere.
- If the free agent signs an offer worth more than $50 million of total value AND the team he came from receives revenue sharing, that team will get a compensatory draft pick after the first round ends. If a team receives revenue sharing but the deal is worth less than $50 million, that picks comes after Competitive Balance Round B (which occurs directly after the second round).
- If the team that loses a free agent after extending a qualifying offer pays the luxury tax, their compensation pick will come after the fourth round is over. If they didn’t, and also didn’t receive revenue sharing, that pick will come after Competitive Balance Round B.
Let the offseason hot stove action begin!
