MLB players had until Tuesday to decide whether to accept qualifying offers for the 2026 season or test free agency.
Toronto Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette was among the nine players who declined their qualifying offer, which means he will be free to test the open market.
Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker, Philadelphia designated hitter Kyle Schwarber also said no along with San Diego right-handers Dylan Cease and Michael King, New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz, Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen, Philadelphia pitcher Ranger Suárez and Houston left-hander Framber Valdez.
Among the players to accept their qualifying offers for the 2026 season were Brandon Woodruff (Brewers), Trent Grisham (New York Yankees), Gleyber Torres (Detroit Tigers), and Shota Imanaga (Chicago Cubs) for a one-year, $22.025-million contract.
If a team makes a qualifying offer to a player who signs a major-league contract with another club before next July’s amateur draft, his former club receives draft-pick compensation at the end of the first round or at the end of competitive balance round B. The placement depends on the amount of the new contract and the revenue-sharing and luxury-tax status of the team losing the player.
Players can be given a qualifying offer only once, so Imanaga, Woodruff, Grisham and Torres can become free agents after next season without draft-pick compensation being attached to them.
Bichette, 27, enjoyed an excellent 2025, hitting .311 with 18 homers, 94 RBIs and a .357 OBP before he sprained his left knee on Sept. 6 in a game against the New York Yankees after sliding into the catcher’s shin guards at home plate.
He returned in time for the World Series, hitting .348 and launching a three-run home run early in Game 7 that for a while seemed destined for franchise lore.
Afterward, he re-iterated his desire to stay in Toronto.
“It’s been an incredible journey. I’ve obviously grown up here in so many different ways,” he said prior to Game 6 of the World Series.
Bichette has spent his entire seven-year career to date with the Blue Jays after debuting in 2019. He rose the ranks in the minor leagues after being selected in the second round, 66th overall, in the 2016 draft.
Tucker is another player being linked to the Blue Jays with ESPN’s Jeff Passan reporting that they are the favourites to land the outfielder.
— With files from the Associated Press.
