NEW YORK — First baseman Pete Alonso, outfielder Juan Soto, and pitchers Corbin Burnes, Walker Buehler and Max Fried were among 136 Major League Baseball players who became free agents Thursday morning.
Shortstop Willy Adames, third baseman Alex Bregman and outfielder Anthony Santander also went free.
There were 64 more players with pending option decisions who could become free agents by Monday, the fifth day after the World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers wrapped up this year’s Fall Classic with a 7-6 victory in Game 5 against the host New York Yankees shortly before midnight Wednesday — Buehler, normally a starter, got the first save of his MLB career — and then the offseason was underway.
Teams and players can start discussing contract terms at 5:01 p.m. Eastern on Monday, after the deadline for teams to make $21.05 million qualifying offers to eligible free agents.
Pitcher Justin Verlander became a free agent after he failed to pitch 140 innings this year, the amount that would have triggered his ability to exercise a $35 million conditional player option. If he had exercised the option, the New York Mets would have been obligated to give an additional $17.5 million to the Houston Astros as part of last year’s trade that sent the three-time Cy Young Award winner back to that club.
The St. Louis Cardinals declined options on three right-handed pitchers: Kyle Gibson ($12 million), Lance Lynn ($10 million) and Keynan Middleton ($6 million). Each gets a $1 million buyout.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito exercised a $19 million player option rather than take a $1 million buyout and go free.
The Milwaukee Brewers said a $12 million mutual option had been declined on pitcher Wade Miley, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery last May.
Among those with pending club options are Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna ($16 million), and Yankees third baseman Anthony Rizzo ($17 million) and relief pitcher Luke Weaver ($2.5 million).
Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, who started Game 5 on the World Series, can opt out of his contract — but the team can void the opt-out by adding a $36 million salary for 2029.
Those with player options include pitchers Blake Snell of the San Francisco Giants ($30 million, of which $15 million would be deferred), Nick Martinez of the Cincinnati Reds ($12 million), Sean Manaea of the Mets ($13.5 million), Jordan Montgomery of the Arizona Diamondbacks ($22.5 million), Nathan Eovaldi of the Texas Rangers ($20 million) and Michael Wacha of the Kansas City Royals ($16 million), along with Chicago Cubs first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger ($27.5 million).
A free agent can be made a qualifying offer only if he has been with the same team continuously since opening day and has never received a qualifying offer before.
Qualifying offers began after the 2012 season, and only 13 of 131 offers have been accepted.
Fried, an MLB All-Star this season for the second time, has been with the Braves since making his major league debut in August 2017. He was the winning pitcher in Game 6 of the 2021 World Series, when the Braves closed out the Astros in the best-of-seven series and clinched Atlanta’s first MLB crown since 1995.
In addition to Fried, the players who were on Atlanta’s roster before becoming free agents Thursday were fellow left-handed pitcher A.J. Minter, right-handers John Brebbia, Jesse Chavez and Charlie Morton, outfielder Adam Duvall, infielder Gio Urshela and utility player Whit Merrifield.