Via Joel Sherman: Qualifying offers will be worth $14.1M this offseason, up from $13.3M last winter. The qualifying offer is based on the average of the top 125 salaries in the game and it was expected to increase this year. It’ll probably go up next year as well. A team must make a player qualifying offer to receive draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere.
The Yankees have three guys who figure to receive qualifying offers in the coming weeks: Robinson Cano, Hiroki Kuroda, and Curtis Granderson. Phil Hughes pitched himself out of a qualifying offer and there’s no reason to give one to the retired Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. I think there’s a chance (albeit a real small one) that Granderson accepts the offer and tries to rebuild his value with a healthy 2014 before hitting the market again. Then again, he’s already 33 and this might be his last chance at a multi-year deal.