Potential Braves free agent targets accept qualifying offers

According to multiple reports, Brewers right-handed pitcher Brandon Woodruff is accepting his one-year qualifying offer worth just over $22 million to stay in Milwaukee.

Woodruff was an intriguing potential Braves free agent target because of the upside. When healthy, he’s been one of the most reliable starters in all of baseball over the last decade, recording a 3.10 ERA over 745 innings, including a 3.20 mark this season. However, health has been a significant problem for him throughout his career, and especially recently. He’s made just 23 starts dating back to the start of the 2023 season.

That put him in line to receive a shorter-term contract this offseason — the kind of deal that’s been right in the wheelhouse of Alex Anthopoulos. He’s never been one to sign free agent pitchers to multi-year contracts, particularly ones with the kind of injury history Woodruff has. However, once Woodruff accepted the qualifying offer, it made it very difficult for any team to justify signing him this offseason.

The qualifying offer is one of the worst rules in all of sports. It actively prevents teams from aggressively pursuing top-tier free agents because of the lost draft compensation, which is likely why Woodruff was forced to settle with Milwaukee, setting him up to be a free agent again next season.

Additionally, Shota Imanaga has also accepted the qualifying offer and will return to the Cubs. This comes after Chicago refused to extend his contract to a fifth year, which gave him a $15 million player option for 2026. He, of course, declined that option, but he’ll still remain with the Cubs for at least one more season after accepting the qualifying offer.