Cubs closer Wade Davis could be an attractive free agent this offseason if he decides to test the waters. Photo Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Cubs pitchers Jake Arrieta and Wade Davis were among nine free agents to receive $17.4 million qualifying offers from their teams Monday.
Also getting the qualifying offers were Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, third baseman Mike Moustakas and outfielder Lorenzo Cain.
Colorado Rockies closer Greg Holland, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn, Cleveland Indians catcher Carlos Santana and Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Alex Cobb also received the qualifying offer.
The deadline to accept is Nov. 16.
If these players sign with new teams, their former teams get an extra draft pick as compensation. A team that signs one of the players who didn’t accept a qualifying offer loses a draft selection, though it is not a first-round pick.
The qualifying offer is $200,000 more than the annual average of the five-year, $86 million contract given to Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman last offseason.
Arrieta, 31, went 14-10 with a 3.53 ERA last season while missing time with a hamstring injury. In five seasons with the Cubs, Arrieta is 68-31 with a 2.73 ERA in 128 regular-season starts.
He also is 5-3 with a 3.08 ERA in nine postseason starts, and he won two games in the 2016 World Series.
Davis was acquired from Kansas City following the 2016 season and recorded 32 saves and a 2.30 ERA in 59 games for the Cubs.
Hosmer, Moustakas and Cain were all homegrown players for the Royals, and they helped the team beat the New York Mets in five games in the 2015 World Series for their first championship since 1985.
Hosmer batted .318 with 25 homers and 94 RBIs last season. Moustakas batted a .272 with a team-record 38 homers after missing most of 2016 with an ACL injury.
Cain batted .300 with 15 homers and 49 RBIs and is considered an elite defender in center field.
Holland signed with the Rockies last season and turned down a $15 million player option to become a free agent. He recorded 41 saves to finish tied with Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Kenley Jansen for the league lead.
Santana batted .259 with 23 homers and 79 RBIs last season. In his last seven seasons, he averaged 24 homers and 81 RBIs.
Lynn was 11-8 with a 3.43 in 33 starts last season after missing all of 2016 recovering from right elbow ligament replacement surgery.
Cobb was 12-10 with a 3.46 ERA in 29 starts last season. He pitched 179 1/3 innings after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015.
