NEW
YORK (AP) — Baseball's business season began Thursday when 121 players
became free agents, a group that includes Pablo Sandoval, Michael Morse,
Jake Peavy, Sergio Romo and Ryan Vogelsong of the World Series champion
San Francisco Giants.
Approximately 28 more players can become eligible, depending on contract options.
Top
free agent pitchers also include Max Scherzer and Jon Lester. Among the
top hitters are shortstop Hanley Ramirez, outfielder Nelson Cruz and
designated hitter Victor Martinez.
The
first big deadline is Monday, when teams must decide whether to make
$15.3 million qualifying offers to their eligible players who became
free agents. An offer can only be made to a free agent who was with the
team for the entire season, and players have until Nov. 10 to accept.
If
a player rejects a qualifying offer and signs a major league contract
with another club before the June amateur draft, his former team would
receive a draft pick as compensation at the end of the first round.The club signing that player loses its first-round pick in the following amateur draft, unless that pick is among the top 10, in which case the club signing that player loses its next-highest pick.
None of the 22 qualifying offers made after the past two seasons was accepted.
Rather than test the market, reliever Koji Uehara agreed to an $18 million, two-year contract to stay with the Boston Red Sox, a deal announced just a few hours after he had become free.
Center fielder Denard Span's $9 million option was exercised by Washington, which declined its half of first baseman Adam LaRoche's $15 million mutual option and reliever Rafael Soriano's $14 million club option. LaRoche gets a $2 million buyout.
Cincinnati
exercised pitcher Johnny Cueto's $10 million option and declined a $9
million option on outfielder Ryan Ludwick and a $4 million option on
infielder Jack Hannahan. Ludwick gets a $4.5 million buyout and Hannahan
$2 million.
St. Louis exercised an option on pitcher John Lackey
for the major league minimum, which next year will be $500,000 plus a
cost-of-living adjustment to be determined Nov. 20 — likely to be $9,000
to $10,000.
The right-hander
agreed to an $82.5 million, five-year contract with Boston in December
2009 that contained a provision for a conditional team option at the
minimum if he missed a season due to specified injury. Lackey did not
pitch in 2012 after reconstructive elbow surgery.
Lackey,
who turned 36 on Oct. 23, was 14-10 with a 3.83 ERA last year with the
Red Sox and Cardinals and was 1-0 in two postseason starts for the NL
Central champions.
Lackey was
acquired at the trade deadline in July in a deal that sent outfielder
Allen Craig and pitcher Joe Kelly to Boston. Cardinals general manager
John Mozeliak said the contract option was a key to the deal.
The
Los Angeles Angels exercised a $7 million option on reliever Huston
Street and declined a $4.5 million option on left-hander Sean Burnett,
who gets a $500,000 buyout.
Los
Angeles Dodgers pitcher Dan Haren exercised his $10 million player
option rather than become a free agent, and Philadelphia declined a $6
million option on pitcher Mike Adams.
Baltimore
exercised a $4.75 million option on left-hander Wei-Yin Chen and a
$4.25 million option on right-hander Darren O'Day, and the Chicago Cubs
declined a $5.5 million option on reliever Kyuji Fujikawa, who gets a
$500,000 buyout.
San Diego
declined a $4 million option on right-hander Josh Johnson, who didn't
throw a pitch for the Padres in 2014 while making $8 million. He injured
an elbow during spring training and had reconstructive surgery.
Oakland
turned down a $5.5 million option for shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima and
instead owes him a $500,000 buyout. Nakajima, 32, never played a major
league game after receiving a $6.5 million, two-year contract in
December 2012.
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