After three straight years of rejections, a free agent finally has decided to accept a qualifying offer, according to major-league sources.
The free agent is outfielder Colby Rasmus, who will return to the Astros on a one-year, $15.8 million contract rather than remain on the open market for teams that would lose a draft pick for signing him.
Rasmus, 29, might not be the only one of the record 20 free agents who received qualifying offers to accept before Friday's deadline at 5 p.m. ET.
Catcher Matt Wieters, left-hander Brett Anderson and right-handers Ian Kennedy and Marco Estrada are among the other candidates to accept. Estrada was in talks with the Blue Jays on a multiyear deal, sources say.
All 34 free agents to receive qualifying offers in the first three years of the current system rejected the one-year guarantees. Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales lingered on the market in 2014 and ultimately settled for deals less than the value of the qualifying offer.
Each player's circumstances are different. Rasmus evidently determined that for him, it was best to take the $15.8 million rather than face uncertainty in a market that is deep in quality outfielders.
Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and Dexter Fowler are free agents. Next year's class of outfielders, featuring Jose Bautista, Carlos Gomez, Josh Reddick and Jon Jay, is neither as deep nor as strong.
Rasmus, who earned $8 million last season, also is gambling on himself to continue a high level of performance while playing for a likely contender. The Astros, after reaching the postseason for the first time since 2005, were eliminated by the World Series champion Royals in the Division Series.
Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, in his previous job with the Cardinals, made Rasmus the 28th overall selection for St. Louis in the 2005 draft. Rasmus went on to play for the Cardinals and Blue Jays, but he enjoyed a comfort level with the Astros that eluded him earlier in his career.
During the regular season, he hit a career-high 25 homers with a .789 OPS. He then added four home runs in six postseason games. It is reasonable for him to expect to be as good or even better next season.
The risk, assuming that Rasmus performs reasonably well, does not appear significant. Rasmus, at the high end, might have commanded a three-year, $42 million deal if he had remained a free agent. Now that he will earn $15.8 million, he will need only to strike a two-year, $26 million contract next offseason to match that contract -- and he could do considerably better.Ken Rosenthal/Fox Sports
Catcher Matt Wieters, left-hander Brett Anderson and right-handers Ian Kennedy and Marco Estrada are among the other candidates to accept. Estrada was in talks with the Blue Jays on a multiyear deal, sources say.
All 34 free agents to receive qualifying offers in the first three years of the current system rejected the one-year guarantees. Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales lingered on the market in 2014 and ultimately settled for deals less than the value of the qualifying offer.
Each player's circumstances are different. Rasmus evidently determined that for him, it was best to take the $15.8 million rather than face uncertainty in a market that is deep in quality outfielders.
Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Gordon and Dexter Fowler are free agents. Next year's class of outfielders, featuring Jose Bautista, Carlos Gomez, Josh Reddick and Jon Jay, is neither as deep nor as strong.
Rasmus, who earned $8 million last season, also is gambling on himself to continue a high level of performance while playing for a likely contender. The Astros, after reaching the postseason for the first time since 2005, were eliminated by the World Series champion Royals in the Division Series.
Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, in his previous job with the Cardinals, made Rasmus the 28th overall selection for St. Louis in the 2005 draft. Rasmus went on to play for the Cardinals and Blue Jays, but he enjoyed a comfort level with the Astros that eluded him earlier in his career.
During the regular season, he hit a career-high 25 homers with a .789 OPS. He then added four home runs in six postseason games. It is reasonable for him to expect to be as good or even better next season.
The risk, assuming that Rasmus performs reasonably well, does not appear significant. Rasmus, at the high end, might have commanded a three-year, $42 million deal if he had remained a free agent. Now that he will earn $15.8 million, he will need only to strike a two-year, $26 million contract next offseason to match that contract -- and he could do considerably better.Ken Rosenthal/Fox Sports
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