The biggest number revealed this off season: $17.2 million.
That is the estimated qualifying offer number.
It is a $1.4 million increase from last off-season.
Within five days of the World Series conclusion, teams must make a qualifying offer to their pending free agents in order to secure a potential first round pick if their players declines it.
Player agents hate the qualifying offer rules. It actually limits the market for free agents with that tag as most teams do not want to give up a first round pick to sign a high price veteran.
But this may be the last year for the qualifying offer as the current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 2, 2016.
But then again, no free agent actually accepted a qualifying offer until last season. It seems that the number has grow so high that it tends to be market value, even though it is for a one year deal, of a normal free agent. But free agents are more concerned today with the years on the contract (the guaranteed money) as a hedge against injury. It is expected that the qualifying offer rules will be a sticking point in the next union contract.
The procedure was put in place to help small market teams who would develop star players only to have them leave after 6 years for free agency. The small market team got nothing in return for developing the games best players. So, the league decided to compensate any team for a loss of a free agent with a draft pick. But at the same time, it also penalized a team for taking the player by losing a draft pick. The idea was to forge some kind of competitive balance between the clubs.
But with the large national television deals and new revenue sources, most small market teams such as Kansas City have found ways to keep their home grown talent. The Royals have been competitive. The Royals have a championship. But just as KC has found a way to work within the system, there are other teams like the Brewers who continue to tread water.
