Top Free Agent Reliever Already Signed, While Another Pitcher Accepts Qualifying Offer

You kind of get the idea that this offseason won't be such a drag compared to the last few years, as the top free agent reliever has already been signed.

Thursday was the deadline for the 10 players who were extended qualifying offers to either accept or decline them. Last offseason we saw Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel go un-signed until after June because teams didn't want to lose a draft pick, as both of those players declined qualifying offers.

Will Smith was one of eight players to decline the QO this year and he was the first to get a multi-year contract. He signed a guaranteed three-year deal with the Braves that also includes a club option for 2023. Smith will earn $40 million, as the fourth-year club option has a $1 million buyout.

The lefty was linked to the Cubs in trade rumors this past summer and if ownership actually approved of a higher payroll they probably would have made a run for him this offseason too.

However, there were two players who did accept the $17.8 million qualifying offer from their teams. White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu will return to the South Side in 2020, and they're still trying to work out a longer deal.

Meanwhile, right-handed starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi, who might have been a free agent target of the White Sox, apparently wasn't getting enough interest to test the market.

Odorizzi will pitch one more year with the Twins and if he has another solid season he could ultimately maximize his pay day next offseason.

Odorizzi will only be 30-years-old when he becomes a free agent again next winter. Contract projections had the righty getting a three-year deal worth between $13 million to $17 million per season.

To go along with Smith, here are the other seven players who declined the qualifying offer.

No real surprises there.

So, the reliever market has been set and it seems like starting pitchers have an idea of what to expect this time around in free agency too.