Key offseason benchmark has been set

The qualifying offer for pending 2026 MLB free agents has been officially set at $22.05 million.

Following the end of the World Series, teams will have five days to issue qualifying offers. In the Braves’ case, they shouldn’t be handing any out, given they have only three potential impending free agents — Marcell Ozuna, Raisel Iglesias, and Ha-Seong Kim (who holds a $16 million player option).

The Braves could be interested in bringing both Ozuna and Iglesias back on short-term deals, but neither is likely to command anything close to $20 million annually in free agency. As for Kim, Atlanta would almost certainly consider extending a qualifying offer if he does opt out of his deal, which many around the league expect. However, qualifying offers cannot be issued to players acquired midseason.

The qualifying offer system essentially provides teams with a bit of protection when it comes to losing top free agents. If a team signs a player who has been extended a qualifying offer, it will forfeit a draft pick and a portion of its international bonus pool money. The team that loses the player, meanwhile, receives a compensatory draft pick.

“Signing a qualified free agent from another team comes with draft and/or international bonus pool penalties,” Anthony Franco wrote for MLB Trade Rumors. “Luxury tax payors lose their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2026 draft, plus $1 million from their 2027 international bonus pool. Revenue-sharing recipients lose their third-highest 2026 draft choice. Teams that neither pay the luxury tax nor receive revenue sharing forfeit their second-highest draft pick and $500,000 from their 2027 international pool. If a team signs multiple qualified free agents within the same offseason, it loses an additional draft pick and takes another corresponding hit to its international pool.”

While the Braves don’t have any players likely to receive a qualifying offer in the coming weeks, several potential free-agent targets will — including Dylan Cease, Michael King, Kyle Schwarber, Bo Bichette, Ranger Suárez, Trent Grisham, and Framber Valdez, among others.

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