Sunday is the deadline for teams to extend a qualifying offer to their players who are heading into free agency. A player who accepts a qualifying offer receives a one-year contract for $18.9 million in 2021. It looks like the Phillies are going to extend one offer, but not another.
According to Mark Feinsand, J.T. Realmuto will be among only a handful of players to receive the qualifying offer this free agency:
The following players will be extended $18.9M qualifying offers before the 5pm ET deadline, per source:
Trevor Bauer, Reds
Kevin Gausman, Giants
DJ LeMahieu, Yankees
JT Realmuto, Phillies
George Springer, Astros
Marcus Stroman, Mets— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 1, 2020
There is one notable Phillies omission: shortstop Didi Gregorius.
Gregorius signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Phillies prior to 2020. Though his year and salary was pro-rated, Gregorius gave the Phillies value for their money, batting .284 with 10 home runs and 40 runs batted in during the short season. Gregorius played solid defense at the shortstop position, as well.
Had the Phillies extended the offer, there might have been a good chance he accepted. With financial uncertainty ahead and with most players seeing their contract options declined this week, Gregorius might not done as well as $18.9 million per season. Because there would be draft pick compensation attached, teams might be leery of giving Gregorius a deal and forfeiting a pick.
The Phillies can still re-sign Gregorius, but there will be more suitors to compete with compared to if the offer was extended.
Realmuto's offer was no surprise. The Phillies would surely love to have Realmuto back for one year in his prime. But many teams would love to have Realmuto as well. Whoever signs Realmuto will forfeit a draft pick and the Phillies will receive a compensatory pick when another team signs him. That is, of course, unless the Phillies re-sign Realmuto.
There were a couple surprises on the list in pitchers Marcus Stroman and Kevin Gausman.
Gausman bounced around the league from Atlanta to Baltimore to Cincinnati before finally catching on with the San Francisco Giants last offseason. The shorter season was arguably his best, as he went 3-3 with a 3.62 earned run average in 10 starts and two bullpen appearances. Gausman's strong play kept the Giants in playoff contention. Gausman might accept the offer so that he can make a nice payday in 2021 and continue to build his value in an offseason where he'd unlikely fetch that much.
Stroman figured to get some free agent interest, pitching well for the Mets in 11 starts before a season-ending injury. The Mets might see Strohman accept, as the draft pick compensation might lead other teams to look elsewhere.
