The opener: Top 50 free agents, qualifying offers, 40-man roster moves

As one of the busiest days of the offseason approaches, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on in the baseball world today:

1. MLBTR’s Top 50 MLB Free Agents List:

With the 2025-26 free agent class about to be largely set in stone this afternoon, we here at MLBTR are excited to unveil our annual Top 50 MLB Free Agents list later today. Some outlets have already published theirs, but we’re happy to wait until the qualifying offer decisions are announced because they could have such a significant impact on the free agent market. This makes us a little late to the party, but allows us to provide a little more analysis and (hopefully) more accuracy. It’s our biggest post of the year and you should keep an eye out for it later today! Shortly after, we’ll also launch our annual prediction contest, where you can do your best to predict the events of an unpredictable offseason.

2. Option, QO decisions coming soon:

We are now five days away from the end of the World Series. That means free agents will be free to negotiate with all other teams later today and any outstanding option decisions must be made today. Some of these option decisions could be a catalyst for talks about a larger deal, as was the case for the Colin Rea expansion reported by Steve Adams of MLBTR earlier today.

Today will also see each club’s decisions on whether to extend a qualifying offer to their departing free agents. For those unfamiliar, the QO is a one-year contract worth $22.05 million that a club can offer to departing free agents who started the year with the team and have not previously received a contract. If that offer is rejected, the free agent will hit the market tied to draft pick compensation. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco previewed the upcoming QO decisions for both pitchers and position players last month.

3. Schedule management for 40 people:

With the offseason in full swing today, MLB’s 30 teams are faced with a handful of other, smaller moves that will have to be made independent of free agency. The 60-day injured list expires during the offseason, so teams must activate all players currently on the 60-day IL and reduce their 40-man roster to 40 players or fewer today. That likely means some players will be exposed to waivers today, though it’s also possible that teams with a surplus of 40-man roster space could work out small trades with teams that need to free up space. The Rays have already engaged in two such trades this winter when they landed an outfielder Ryan rested from the Reds and shipped right-handed Joey Gerber to the Mets.