Phillies qualifying offer decisions on Aaron Nola, Rhys Hoskins – NBC Sports Philadelphia

Every year, the top MLB free agents are almost guaranteed to receive qualifying offers from their teams before entering the free agent market. To be eligible for this offer, the player must have been with the team for the entire prior season and never have received a qualifying offer before.

If the player accepts the offer, they will remain with the team for one year and receive the average of the game’s top 125 salaries, which is currently $20.325 million.

However, if the player rejects the offer before the November 14 deadline, they become a free agent and their previous team will receive compensation if they sign with another team.

By yesterday at 5 p.m., teams had to decide whether to extend qualifying offers to their eligible free agents. The Philadelphia Phillies had an obvious candidate in Aaron Nola, who is expected to decline the offer due to his potential contract value surpassing $100 million.

If Nola rejects the qualifying offer, the Phillies will be in line for a compensatory draft pick after the fourth round in 2024 if he signs with another team. Last year, compensatory picks in that range fell between the 132nd and 137th overall selections.

Due to being a luxury tax payer in 2023, the Phillies’ compensatory pick would be later in the draft than for over two-thirds of teams. Revenue-sharing clubs receive a pick after the first round, while non-revenue-sharing clubs below the luxury tax threshold get their compensatory pick before the third round.

Aaron Nola receiving the qualifying offer was a straightforward decision. However, it was not as clear-cut for Rhys Hoskins, who ultimately did not receive a qualifying offer. In Hoskins’ case, he could have accepted the offer of $20.325 million because it would be a good salary while he seeks to increase his value for free agency the following year. The Phillies are currently unsure of how Hoskins would fit into their 2024 roster with the uncertainty surrounding Bryce Harper’s defensive position in the near future. If Harper is to play first base next season, there may not be much room for Hoskins, especially considering the importance of the Phillies’ defensive improvement after the All-Star break when Kyle Schwarber took over as the DH and Harper shifted to first base.

Without a clear understanding of how their offense could potentially change this offseason, offering Hoskins more than $20 million would have been a risky move for the Phillies.

On the other hand, if the Phillies were to sign a player who received a qualifying offer, they would forfeit their second- and fifth-highest draft picks as well as up to $1 million of their international bonus pool money. They have already faced penalties in previous offseasons for signing Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos.