Laying Out the MLB Offseason Calendar
Plus, What It All Means for the Pittsburgh Pirates
There are still a few rounds of playoffs left to go and a World Series champion to be crowned, but for me, the offseason is already well under way and always on my mind.
That’s the reality for those of us that follow the Pittsburgh Pirates, so it’s always important to have an idea of what’s to come and when, as baseball’s offseason starts off hot and heavy once the World Series ends, with important dates to have circled one after another.
With that in mind, I thought I would cover those for you—so you don’t have to go tracking them down yourself—with important context when it comes to the team and just what every date exactly means for them.
October 15th – Final Day of the Article XX(D) Free Agency Period
Okay, this already passed, but I wanted to at least mention it. Article XX(D) Free Agency is what allowed Duane Underwood Jr., Chase De Jong, and Chris Owings to hit the market earlier than your run of the mill minor league free agents (more on them in a bit).
These three were outrighted during the season, and they accepted the assignments as opposed to electing free agency—a right they all possessed as players who had previously been outrighted (De Jong) or with more than three years of service time (Underwood Jr. and Owings).
Certainly not monumental moves, but it still helps to understand why and how they happened.
November 1st, 2nd, 4th, or 5th: Eligible Players Become Article XX(B) Free Agents
The next several deadlines are fluid, as they are dependent on when the World Series ends—and these dates are based on the original playoff schedule that was announced back in August.
The Pirates traded most of their pending free agents, with Andrew McCutchen and Vince Velasquez the only players who are slated to hit the market come early November.
For what it’s worth, this is also the first day of the offseason trades can be made between Major League teams, as well as the beginning of the Quiet Period, in which these players can’t negotiate or sign with interested suitors—outside of their prior teams, that is.
November 3rd, 4th, 6th, or 7th: Decision on Jarlín García’s Option Due
There is no one common date for decisions on contractual options, but García’s specifically is three days after the World Series.
There’s likely little to no drama here, as García never pitched with the club, suffering from an injury the entire year that left him unable to even pick up a ball for a large majority of that time.
November 4th, 5th, 7th, or 8th: Final Day to Request Waivers on a Draft-Excluded Player
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a first for you, so just what is a draft-excluded player?
Players who are selected to the roster after August 15th who otherwise would have been eligible for the Rule 5 Draft if not for the selection and have less than three years of service can potentially become a draft-excluded player—but only if they remain on the roster after the Rule 5 Draft. Said players can be released, they just can’t be assigned to the minors—optionally or outright—until 20 days before Opening Day.
Players fitting the bill here are Hunter Stratton and Kyle Nicolas. For reference, Luis Ortiz was a draft-excluded player last offseason.
November 5th, 6th, 8th, or 9th: Most Everything Else…
This is obviously a bit cheeky, but the fifth day after the World Series ends is really when the offseason kicks into high gear, and it’s probably best to break the deadline into smaller parts.
Last day to tender Qualifying Offers: Even though I don’t see the Pirates offering Velasquez $20.5 million to stick around, I at least wanted to mention this was part of the proceedings.
Domestic Reserve List limit changes: Typically, this is the date it would go from 180 in season to 190 for the offseason; however, when minor league players unionized and ratified their first-ever Collective Bargaining Agreement, they gave the league the right to decrease the list—which limits the number of players allowed in a system at any given time—by 15 starting in 2024, to 165 and 175, respectively. The league wasted no time in accepting that offer, and the limit is effectively dropping from 180 to 175 this offseason and hitting 165 as of the start of next season.
End of the Quiet Period: Even though free agency in baseball is more of a slow burn than the fireworks show we see in other leagues, players are technically allowed to start signing at this point.
Players must be reinstated from the 60-day Injured Lists: This includes injured players in both the major and minor leagues—as well as the Full Season injury designation—and obviously is a bigger deal as far as the 40-man roster is concerned.
At this point, the Pirates should have four players that would need reinstated: Oneil Cruz, Ángel Perdomo, Tucupita Marcano, and JT Brubaker. This is likely the number of corresponding moves the team will need to make at this time. Speaking of which…
Last day to outright potential Minor League free agents: Many players get ran through waivers at this point, as teams need to make room for all those they placed on the 60-day IL throughout the season, with many ending up getting assigned outright to the minors. However, this is the last day a player who would otherwise qualify for minor league free agency can be outrighted to the minors. While it’s a tad confusing, effectively, what does it mean?
As the next step shows, this is the time when eligible minor league players hit free agency, which can be more lucrative than yearly contract renewals. If a player who could have had that opportunity gets outrighted after the fact, they must be signed to a contract for the subsequent season before they are allowed to be outrighted.
For example, in the 2021-22 offseason, the Pirates outrighted Michael Perez in mid-November, after the minor league free agency deadline but before the tender deadline—another important part of this equation, as every player has a contract agreement at that point—but not before signing him to a deal for 2022 at $750,000 in the majors and $350,000 in the minors, a perk of sorts for being outrighted when he was.
This offseason, could that mean that Vinny Capra—a player who has not served enough time in the minor leagues (seven seasons) to hit free agency—sticks around a little longer over someone who has (Osvaldo Bido, just to name one example)? It’s possible, as there is a little more leeway with a player like Capra.
Moving up the tender deadline from December 2 to the last Friday before Thanksgiving—as they did during the last CBA negotiations—made this discussion less important than it was in the past, as less time between the two dates means less of a need for the necessary roster spots.
Eligible players become Minor League free agents: The Pirates have a larger list this offseason than they have in the recent past, with 26 players slated to hit free agency. I’ll cover the whole list in another post before the deadline, put some highlights include Mason Martin, Cal Mitchell, Tahnaj Thomas, and Ryan Vilade.
November 7th-9th: GM Meetings in Scottsdale, Arizona
While it’s not on the level of the Winter Meetings in terms of transactions, it at least offers the opportunity to get the hot stove warmed up.
November 14th: Last Day to Outright Injured Players, Along with Setting Reserve Lists
During the season, teams are not allowed to assign injured players to the minors—they must be released. Starting the first day after the season, there’s a short window in which they can be assigned to the minors, ending on the 14th.
For the Pirates, this makes the question of what happens to Marcano an interesting one. He’s slated to miss significant time after getting injured in July, and he hadn’t quite done enough to cement himself a spot moving forward before that. If the team is interested in trying to keep him around, it’s possible they are able to pass him through waivers without another team claiming him, but that would have to happen before the 14th. Otherwise, he would need to be released after clearing waivers. Sure, he could be resigned to a minor league contract—think Clay Holmes circa 2020—but there’s always the possibility he signs elsewhere once given the opportunity.
This is just something to consider, given the allowable timelines.
As for setting the Reserve Lists, this is what is more colloquially known as the Rule 5 deadline. It’s one and the same—protecting eligible players from the Rule 5 Draft. Given a shortened 2020 draft and a lot of Major League debuts in 2023, the team has quite a sparse field to choose from this offseason, with Tsung-Che Cheng being the only lock (in this writer’s humble opinion). I will have an exhaustive list for you soon.
Also receiving less press, but still part of the same deadline, is setting the 38-player Triple-A Reserve List, which protects players from the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 Draft.
For example, Joshua Palacios would not have been included on this list for the Washington Nationals last offseason, making him available to the Pirates.
November 17th: Tender Deadline
This is the last opportunity for teams to drop players from their roster, no questions asked with no further contractual or monetary commitments. Otherwise, after tendering a player a contract, they are tied to them for the following season.
Tendering players is often viewed only through the scope of arbitration—tendering or nontendering an arbitration eligible player—however, every player gets tendered a contract, and pre-arbitration players get nontendered, just not as often. Again, you need to look no further than Holmes in December of 2020.
December 3rd: Final Day to Outright Players Before the Rule 5 Draft
Roster space is often needed in case a team wants to make a selection in the Rule 5 Draft, and this is the last opportunity that a player can be placed on waivers and subsequently released before that.
Remember, a player need not be designated for assignment—or even have it announced—to be placed on waivers, so when this year’s Ali Sánchez or Miguel Yajure get outrighted or claimed without warning, don’t be surprised. You now should know better!
December 5th: Draft Lottery
Instituted as part of the 2022 CBA negotiations, this will be the second draft lottery. That’s important because as part of the new system, non-payee clubs under the revenue sharing system cannot finish in the lottery two years in a row, meaning the Washington Nationals—who picked second in 2023—can’t pick higher than 10th this time around. That means their 10% odds at receiving the first pick get allocated evenly to everyone else.
The Pirates, who finished tied with the Cleveland Guardians for the ninth worst record in the league—and who are granted that ninth spot due to their worse record in 2022—initially have a 2.7% chance at the first pick. While the rules aren’t officially available, practical application of Baseball America’s reporting would peg the Pirates increased odds at 3% for the first pick in 2024.
December 6th: Rule 5 Draft
One of the hottest dates on the baseball offseason calendar—taking place on the final day of the annual Winter Meetings, which start on the 3rd in Nashville, Tennessee—no lottery is in place here, with the Pirates slated to pick ninth overall.
The team found a keeper in 2022, selecting José Hernández from the Los Angeles Dodgers, who not only managed to stick on the roster all year, but was a significant contributor to the bullpen.
December 15th: End of the Current International Signing Period
This is the final day to sign eligible players for the 2023 International Signing Period, with a month off until the next period starts.
The Pirates acquired $776,500 in spending space from the Texas Rangers for Austin Hedges and have $982,000 left to spend. At this point in the period, pickings are slim. The Dodgers landed one of the biggest remaining names, Korean pitching prospect Hyun-Suk Jang, who signed with the team for $900,000 in August—a sum they only had available after making a trade for space of their own—and it’s unclear if any more targets remain for the funds.
If for some reason it’s not clear, the Pirates lose out on the ability to spend that money if they don’t by December 15th.
Jananuary 12th: Arbitration Exchange Date
The Pirates have a six-player arbitration class, with the following estimates from MLB Trade Rumors:
Mitch Keller: $6,000,000
David Bednar: $4,700,000
JT Brubaker: $2,280,000
Miguel Andújar: $2,200,000
Connor Joe: $2,000,000
Ryan Borucki: $1,300,000
Of course, there’s a long way to go until it reaches this point, with settlements and potential nontenders changing the landscape, but if contracts can’t be agreed to and it makes it to this point, this is when the sides exchange salary figures. At that point, as a file-and-trial team, the Pirates don’t negotiate one-year deals after submitting their figures.
It’s important to note that the sides don’t know where each is going to submit, so it’s not worth your while getting disgruntled over the potential difference of a few hundred thousand dollars—the process is more complicated than that.
January 15th: Beginning of the 2024 International Signing Period
The last significant date on the calendar before we really start to think about pitchers and catchers, January 15th is the new July 2nd.
According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, the Pirates will have $7,114,800 to spend in 2024; however, he also points out that funds forfeited by teams for signing players who turned down Qualifying Offers get allocated to teams who did not. This is in the CBA, and by my count it’s $7 million to 22 teams, or an extra $318,181 and change, but don’t take that as gospel.
I hope I didn’t miss anything, but that should be the most comprehensive calendar you read this offseason.
Leave any questions in the comments and I’ll be sure to address them!
In case you’re thinking, I’ll never remember all this, I’m putting links to this sort of piece on the “resource” at the top of the front page. It’ll always be readily accessible.
Larry Doughty is freaking out.