Major League Baseball

Giants' star Sandoval tops list of MLB players to get $15.3M qualifying offers

Published Nov. 3, 2014 8:00 p.m. ET

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San Francisco Giants World Series star Pablo Sandoval was among 12 free agents given $15.3 million qualifying offers Monday by their former teams.

An offer could be made only to a free agent who was with the team for the entire season, and players have until Nov. 10 to accept. The price was determined by the average of the top 125 major league contracts this year by average annual value.

Don't expect Sandoval to accept. None of the 22 qualifying offers made after the past two seasons was accepted, and as Ken Rosenthal reported Sunday, all indications are that Sandoval will hit the open market before the Giants make a serious push to re-sign him. Sandoval and the approximately 134 other free agents can start negotiating money with all teams starting Tuesday.

Sandoval, 28, batted .279 during the regular season with a .739 OPS, 16 homers and 73 RBI. But he again was even more of a force while helping the Giants go 12-5 in the postseason, batting .366 with an .888 OPS, zero homers and five RBI. He also caught the final out on a foul pop-up in Game 7 of the World Series.

Published reports said that Sandoval rejected a three-year, $40 million offer from the Giants in spring training, preferring to use Pence's five-year, $90 million contract as a starting point for negotiations.

Sandoval's asking price figures to only increase in the wake of another strong postseason performance and another Series title, the Giants' third in five years. Third base is a position of scarcity in the majors, and Sandoval is a switch hitter and above-average defender, adding to his value.

Detroit made the offers to pitcher Max Scherzer and first baseman-designated hitter Victor Martinez, and Pittsburgh to left-hander Francisco Liriano and catcher Russell Martin.

Also receiving offers were shortstop Hanley Ramirez (Los Angeles Dodgers), outfielder Nelson Cruz (Baltimore), right-hander James Shields (Kansas City), closer David Robertson (New York Yankees), outfielder Melky Cabrera (Toronto), pitcher Ervin Santana (Atlanta) and outfielder Michael Cuddyer (Colorado).

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 amateur draft, unless that pick is among the top 10, in which case the club signing that player loses its next-highest pick.

Three players who potentially could have become free agents stayed with their teams. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez exercised his half of a $14 million mutual option with Milwaukee; left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada agreed to a $4 million, one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs; and Tampa Bay exercised a $2.5 million option on right-hander Joel Peralta.

Kansas City exercised a $7 million option on reliever Wade Davis, who would have been eligible for salary arbitration.

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