Major League Baseball

MLB teams extend qualifying offers

Published Nov. 4, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

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The World Series champion Boston Red Sox made $14.1 million qualifying offers to free agents Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Napoli and Stephen Drew on Monday, the first deadline day of baseball's offseason.

Thirteen free agents received the offers, up from nine last year. The Yankees also extended offers to a trio of players: second baseman Robinson Cano, outfielder Curtis Granderson and pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

Players accepting are signed for next season. If a player signs elsewhere, his former team gets an extra draft pick at the end of the first round next June as compensation.

Others receiving the offers were Atlanta catcher Brian McCann, Cincinnati outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, Kansas City pitcher Ervin Santana, St. Louis outfielder Carlos Beltran, Seattle designated hitter Kendrys Morales and Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz.

Free agents can start talking contract with all teams on Tuesday.

The amount of the qualifying offer, which increased by $800,000 this year, is set by baseball's collective bargaining agreement as the average of the 125 highest contracts.

Among the nine players who received the offers last year, the only ones to stay with their teams were Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, Kuroda and Washington first baseman Adam LaRoche.

If a new club signs a player who received a qualifying offer, that team gives up a high draft pick. The top 10 overall selections in the draft cannot be forfeited, and a team signing multiple qualified players would lose a corresponding amount of selections.

Cruz served a 50-game suspension this year; he was among 14 players disciplined by Major League Baseball after its investigation of the Biogenesis anti-aging clinic. In 108 games before his suspension in August, Cruz hit .269 with 27 homers and 76 RBIs. He returned for the AL wild-card tiebreaker and went 0 for 4.

Among those who did not receive offers were pitchers Bronson Arroyo of Cincinnati, Matt Garza of Texas, Roy Halladay of Philadelphia, Tim Hudson of Atlanta, Josh Johnson of Toronto and Fernando Rodney of Tampa Bay.

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