Each Team’s Penalty For Signing A Qualifying Offer-Rejecting Free Agent

Since we just looked at what teams would stand to receive in draft compensation if they lost a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer, now it’s time to explore what each team would have to give up in order to sign a QO-rejecting free agent. To recap the mechanics: if a free agent has played the entire 2026 season with a team and he has never received a qualifying offer in the past, he is eligible to be issued a QO within five days of the end of the World Series.