Gerrit Cole opts out and then he doesn’t. Qualifying offers were issued. Free agents are ranked. And other news from around MLB.
Good morning. You officially have my permission to call them the Sacramento A’s if you want. Or the West Sacramento A’s if you’d rather.
- After opting out of his contract with the Yankees, which still had four years and $144 million to go unless the Yankees added on a $36 million fifth year, Gerrit Cole announced that he wouldn’t opt out after all.
- Mark Feinsand has more details on the standoff between Cole and the Yankees.
- Thirteen free agents received qualifying offers.
- The Athletic staff breaks down what this means for each free agent with an QO. (sub. req.)
- One shocker was that the the Red Sox gave right-hander Nick Pivetta a QO. John Tomase explains why Boston gave the qualifying offer to Pivetta.
- Ben Clemens has the top 50 free agents with contract projections.
- R.J. Anderson has the top 50 free agents with potential landing spots.
- Keith Law has his top 50 free agents. (The Athletic sub. req.)
- Kiley McDaniel has his top 50 free agents along with contract projections. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
- Gabe Lacques goes above and beyond with his Top 120 free agents. Donovan Solano (number 120) asks: “And what number free agent are you?”
- Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi declined his $20 million option and becomes a free agent.
- Tim Britton projects contacts for the top free agents, (The Athletic sub. req.) including Juan Soto.
- Bob Nightengale has 10 teams to watch in free agency.
- Jorge Castillo reports on the choice facing Soto.
- Mark Feinsand has contract projections for Soto and where he could end up signing.
- Will Sammon and Katie Woo have rumors for the general managers meetings (The Athletic sub. req.) including Willy Adames’ willingness to stay in Milwaukee.
- R.J. Anderson has three things we learned about the offseason on Monday.
- Right-hander Michael Wacha avoided free agency with a three-year deal worth at least $51 million and with incentives up to $72 million. Wacha said he and his family “fell in love” with Kansas City.
- Davy Andrews breaks down what the Royals can expect out of Wacha.
- Anne Rogers talks about his decision to stay in KC.
- A roundtable discussion on whether the Yankees should fire Aaron Boone.
- The Hall of Fame announced the eight candidates for the “Eras” committee ballot.
- Tyler Kepner makes the case for and against each “Eras” committee candidate.
- In bulletin board material, Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly blasted the Yankees as “lazy” and said they were the eighth- or ninth-best team in the playoffs.
- After his World Series injury, Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani underwent surgery to repair his left labrum.
- Braves reliever Joe Jiménez had knee surgery and is expected to miss eight-to-twelve months.
- Guardians All-Star utility player David Fry had right elbow surgery and will miss most or all of 2025.
- The Athletics have officially dropped “Oakland” from their name. They are officially just the “Athletics.”
- And finally, for decades, MLB has rubbed up baseballs with a specific mud from the Delaware River. Now, a new study explains why that particular mud is perfect for baseballs.