MLB qualifying offer: Brandon Belt accepts Giants’ $18.4 million offer; Trevor

Wednesday was the deadline for the 14 free agents who received a qualifying offer to either accept or reject the one-year, $18.4 million contract. The qualifying offer is set at the average of the top 125 salaries in baseball, and players who accept it return to their team on that one-year deal, and players who reject it are tied to draft pick compensation.

Here are the 14 free agents who received the qualifying offer this year. Only six free agents received it last offseason, and the 14 are the most since a record 20 free agents received the qualifying offer in 2015-16.

• 1B Brandon Belt, Giants 
• OF Nick Castellanos, Reds 
• OF Michael Conforto, Mets 
• SS Carlos Correa, Astros 
• 1B Freddie Freeman, Braves 
• RHP Raisel Iglesias, Angels 
• LHP Robbie Ray, Blue Jays 
• LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox 
• SS Corey Seager, Dodgers 
• IF Marcus Semien, Blue Jays 
• SS Trevor Story, Rockies
• RHP Noah Syndergaard, Mets 
• UT Chris Taylor, Dodgers
• RHP Justin Verlander, Astros 

Free agents who were traded at midseason (like Kris Bryant, Nelson Cruz, and Max Scherzer) are not eligible to receive the qualifying offer, ditto for the free agents who have received a qualifying offer previously (like Kevin Gausman and Marcus Stroman). If you’re curious why a big name free agent didn’t receive the qualifying offer, he probably falls into one of those two buckets.

As noted, the deadline to accept or reject the qualifying offer was Wednesday, Nov. 17. Here are the qualifying offer decisions for this year’s 14 free agents as announced by each team.

Accepted qualifying offer

Despite indications the two sides would attempt to work out a new multi-year contract, Belt accepted the qualifying offer and will remain with the Giants. There is no free agent compensation when a player accepts the qualifying offer, so San Francisco will neither receive nor forfeit a draft pick. Belt is back with the Giants on the one-year, $18.4 million contract, and the two sides could still work out a longer contract prior to Opening Day. Our R.J. Anderson ranked Belt the No. 25 free agent on the market.

Signed with another team

Earlier this week Rodriguez signed a five-year, $77 million pact with the Tigers. He functionally declined the qualifying offer, so the Red Sox will receive a draft pick after the first round as compensation, and the Tigers will forfeit their…