The MLB offseason officially began on Wednesday after the Atlanta Braves clinched a World Series victory on Tuesday night. One of the first steps of the offseason for teams like the Los Angeles Angels is to determine which of their free agents will receive qualifying offers before the Nov. 7 deadline.
Between now and that Nov. 7 deadline, teams are allowed to negotiate exclusively with their own free agents. If they cannot come to a deal, the team can place a qualifying offer on that player. They would still be allowed to negotiate a contract with that player, but if the player elects to leave to another team, the original team would receive draft compensation.
There are no rules on how many players can receive the qualifying offer. However, the offer is a one year deal worth the mean salary of the top 125 paid players in MLB, making it too expensive to give to some players. In addition, a player cannot receive more than one qualifying offer in their career and they must have spent the entirety of the previous season with their team.
On Wednesday, the full list of free agents — pending some player and team options — was released. The New York Mets, L.A. Dodgers, and Oakland Athletics lead all teams with 11 free agents each, which the Arizona Diamondbacks have a grand total of zero, per Mark Feinsand of MLB Network:
160 @MLB players were declared free agents on Wednesday. The Mets, Dodgers & Athletics lead the way with 11 free agents apiece, while the D-backs (0) & Marlins (1) have the fewest. Here's the complete list, which does not include any players whose options may still be declined: pic.twitter.com/SwbmYaXaFV
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 3, 2021
The Angels fall in the middle with eight players being declared free agents. Those players are Dylan Bundy, Steve Cishek, Alex Cobb, Dexter Fowler, Raisel Iglesias, Juan Lagares, AJ Ramos, and Kurt Suzuki.
Of this list, the only player who almost undoubtedly will receive the qualifying offer is Iglesias. The Angels’ top priority should be to bring him back, but they’ll want draft compensation if they can’t agree to terms with him.
The Angels will also potentially negotiate with Cobb, but given his age, it’s unlikely they place such a high price tag on him if they cannot come to an agreement. Bundy, Cishek, Fowler, Lagares, Ramos, and Suzuki will most likely all be on their way out.
Of that group, Cishek is the most reasonable option to return, as he was a somewhat reliable bullpen option that could return for cheap.
Angels hire new director of amateur scouting
After removing Matt Swanson from the director of amateur scouting position recently, they quickly agreed to terms with a new person. Tim McIlvaine was reportedly hired by the Angels to take over Swanson’s position, and it remains unclear if Swanson will stay with the team in a different role.