Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell Among MLB Free Agents to Decline $20.3M Qualifying Offers

All seven MLB players who were tendered a one-year, $20.3 million qualifying offer for the 2024 season—Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Josh Hader, Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray and Matt Chapman—turned down the deal, per Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com.

The group had until Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline to accept the qualifying offer but none were expected to do so, and none did. They remain free agents.

Their respective teams will receive draft compensation if they sign elsewhere. The Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies will each receive a pick after the completion of the fourth round if Ohtani, Chapman, Snell, Hader and Nola, respectively, sign with different teams.

The Chicago Cubs, meanwhile, will receive a selection after the Competitive Balance Round B if Bellinger departs, while the Minnesota Twins will receive either a pick following the Competitive Balance Round A if Gray signs a deal worth at least $50 million elsewhere—which is the likely scenario—or a pick after Competitive Balance Round B if he signs for less than that figure.

Obviously, all eyes are on two-way superstar Ohtani this winter, with ESPN's Jeff Passan reporting on Tuesday that the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox "all are expected to be in the Ohtani sweepstakes."

Alden Gonzalez of ESPN added on Monday that "people familiar with Ohtani's thinking believe he might be open to a short-term deal with an exceedingly high average annual value, a circumstance that would open up a host of suitors this offseason."

The belief has been that Ohtani would seek a deal worth more than $500 million. But it's possible that teams could balk at such a figure given the uncertainty surrounding his pitching career after he suffered a torn UCL in his right elbow late in the season.

Taking a short-term deal with a massive average annual value could allow him to hit free agency again after he reestablished his value as both a starting pitcher and slugger. But if a team is willing to set an MLB record in total value on a long-term contract on the assumption that he'll once again be an elite pitcher, it's hard to imagine him turning that down.