Qualifying offer deadline: Walker, Hellickson accept 1-year deals
Neil Walker will be back in Queens next year and Jeremy Hellickson will return to Philadelphia in 2017, as both players have accepted their one-year, $17.2-million qualifying offers from the Mets and Phillies, respectively.
The other eight players to receive qualifying offers turned them down ahead of Monday's deadline, and will now navigate free agency attached to draft-pick compensation, forcing the clubs that sign them - assuming they change teams - to forfeit their top unprotected picks in the 2017 draft. Should those players find new homes this offseason, their former teams will also receive compensatory picks after the first round of next year's amateur draft.
Here's the complete list of players that received qualifying offers:
| PLAYER | TEAM | DECISION | ANNOUNCEMENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Bautista | Blue Jays | Rejected | Official |
| Yoenis Cespedes | Mets | Rejected | Official |
| Ian Desmond | Rangers | Rejected | Official |
| Edwin Encarnacion | Blue Jays | Rejected | Official |
| Dexter Fowler | Cubs | Rejected | Official |
| Jeremy Hellickson | Phillies | Accepted | Official |
| Kenley Jansen | Dodgers | Rejected | Official |
| Mark Trumbo | Orioles | Rejected | Official |
| Justin Turner | Dodgers | Rejected | Official |
| Neil Walker | Mets | Accepted | Official |
Walker and Hellickson now join Brett Anderson, Colby Rasmus, and Matt Wieters as the only players to accept a qualifying offer since the system was introduced in 2012.