Report: Qualifying offers going down to $18.4M

Qualifying offers for impending free agents this offseason will be $18.4 million, which is down $500,000 from last winter, sources told Buster Olney of ESPN.

A player will reportedly have to accept or reject the qualifying offer before the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1.

Six major leaguers were given qualifying offers last offseason, including Marcus Stroman and Kevin Gausman, who both accepted the one-year deals from the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants, respectively.

Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, Clayton Kershaw, Robbie Ray, Carlos Rodon, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Trevor Story are very likely to receive qualifying offers this offseason.

Michael Conforto, Eduardo Rodriguez, Noah Syndergaard, Justin Verlander, Brandon Belt, Anthony DeSclafani, and Raisel Iglesias are also names to monitor.

If a player rejects a qualifying offer and signs with a new team, his former squad will receive a compensation pick from the club that signed the free agent.