Thursday was the deadline for teams to officially submit qualifying offers to pending free agents. Jed Hoyer said several times during the past month that the Cubs would extend the qualifying offer to catcher Willson Contreras.
The long-time Cubs catcher is one of 14 players who got the qualifying offer from their respective team. No big surprises on the list other than outfielder Joc Pederson.
The full qualifying offer list, per ESPN sources:
– Aaron Judge
– Trea Turner
– Xander Bogaerts
– Jacob DeGrom
– Dansby Swanson
– Carlos Rodón
– Brandon Nimmo
– Willson Contreras
– Chris Bassitt
– Anthony Rizzo
– Tyler Anderson
– Martín Perez
– Joc Pederson
– Nathan Eovaldi— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 10, 2022
So, for Contreras and the other 13 players, he can either accept the qualifying offer which means he’d agree to a one-year, $19.65 million deal for 2023, or decline it and explore the free agent market. The Cubs would then be able to receive a draft pick and possibly international free agent pool money in return from whatever team signs Contreras.
Among Willson Contreras’ potential free-agent suitors — if he rejects the QO, as expected — the Tigers would give up a 3rd-round pick to sign him; the Cardinals or Astros would forfeit a 2nd-round pick and $500,000 in international bonus pool money. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 9, 2022
Contreras has until Nov. 15, to accept or decline the qualifying offer from the Cubs. It has already been reported that Contreras will turn it down. Both sides can still negotiate, but it’s been made clear in the past couple years that the Cubs have been ready to move on from Contreras. He was almost traded to the Astros in the summer, a deal that was axed by Dusty Baker.
We also know that the Cubs have not approached Contreras to discuss an extension since 2018, according to Bruce Levine.
Contreras, 30, has been a member of the Cubs organization since 2009, when he was signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela. He made his MLB debut in 2016 and during his seven-year career Contreras has been a three-time All-Star, elected as the starter in 2018, 2019 and 2022.
The Cubs currently have catchers Yan Gomes, PJ Higgins and Miguel Amaya on the 40-man roster.
Over at Fangraphs, Contreras is projected to sign a four year contract worth between $70 million and $80 million.
In 2022, Contreras slashed .243/.349/.466, finishing the season with the team-high .815 OPS in 113 games, while slugging 22 home runs, three behind Patrick Wisdom for most on the Cubs.
