Texas Rangers rumors: Andrew Cashner is a free agent after this season, and the qualifying offer for MLB free agents is $17.4 million. While that may seem like more than most fans would want to spend on a one year deal for Cashner, T.R. Sullivan says to expect the Rangers to extend a qualifying offer to Cashner, and for Cashner to reject it, becoming a free agent.
If Cashner does reject a qualifying offer, the Rangers would receive a compensatory pick at the end of the second round of the 2018 draft. If Cashner were to accept the qualifying offer, the Rangers would be on the hook for $17.4 million to Cashner for the 2018 season.
As we discussed earlier today, Cashner had a very good 2017 campaign from a runs allowed standpoint, but his peripherals were full of red flags that make it dicey to bet on him sustaining that success going forward. Still, in a relatively weak free agent class, it sounds like Cashner seems set on going out and trying to cash in on a big, multi-year deal. If that’s the case, Texas making the qualifying offer seems like a relatively low-risk move.