By AJ Eustace | at November 1, 2026 8:13am CDT
The AL champion Rays made their most consequential decision of the young offseason yesterday, picking up their $20MM club option on right-hander Drew Rasmussen. The ace is nonetheless expected to be traded and ranks No. 2 on MLBTR’s Top 40 Trade Candidates list. In addition to Rasmussen, the Rays declined a mutual option on Cedric Mullins, finalized Yandy Diaz’s contract, and saw Nick Martinez decline his end of his mutual option. Their only remaining option is a $3.1MM club option on shortstop Taylor Walls.
1. Braves reunite with Brown in scouting role
The Braves reunited with Dana Brown in the role of senior advisor of amateur scouting. Brown most recently served as the Astros’ general manager before the two sides mutually parted ways in August. The Braves’ farm system is a middle-of-the-pack unit according to Baseball America and MLB Pipeline’s most recent rankings. Meanwhile, the club has the league’s seventh-highest projected cash payroll ($215.8MM) for 2027 and several long-term deals on the books, according to MLBTR’s Payroll Tracker. With that in mind, Brown and president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos figure to re-double their scouting efforts to identify affordable talent for future Braves contenders.
2. Giants still need to clear 10 roster spots
The Giants entered the offseason with half a roster’s worth of players on the 60-day injured list and not enough spots to carry them all once the IL goes away tomorrow. They have since outrighted four players, most recently catcher Andrew Knizner, and watched two more players depart over waivers. However, FanGraphs’ RosterResource still projects the Giants for a 40-man roster count of 50. It will be hard to clear ten more spots since the remaining injured players are mostly roster staples (Rafael Devers and Matt Chapman) or others who are expected to be key contributors (Randy Rodríguez). Teams have until 4:00pm CT tomorrow to get their 40-man rosters into compliance.
3. Qualifying offers on the horizon
Tomorrow’s 4:00pm CT deadline is also when teams must decide whether to issue qualifying offers to their eligible free agents. This year’s QO is valued at $23.15MM. A few players are slam dunks to receive and reject the QO, such as Randy Arozarena, Seiya Suzuki, and Trevor Rogers. Others, like Jazz Chisholm Jr., are borderline calls. The field also includes relievers Adrian Morejon and David Bednar, who are both coming off strong seasons, but who would also become the highest paid relievers by average annual value if they accepted the QO. Players who receive the QO have until November 17th to decide whether to accept.
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The Opener: Brown, Giants, Qualifying Offers – MLB Trade Rumors
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