Key 2023-24 MLB offseason dates
Here are the key dates to keep an eye on during the 2023-24 MLB offseason...
5 DAYS AFTER WORLD SERIES ENDS: FREE AGENCY BEGINS
Teams have an exclusive five-day negotiating window with their internal free agents. Once that day passes, free agents are free to sign with any club.
NOV. 7-9: GM MEETINGS
The annual meeting of general managers will be in Scottsdale, Ariz. from Nov. 7-9.
It is at these meetings that teams have conversations with one another, often in order to begin laying the groundwork for potential trades later in the offseason.
NOV. TBD: DEADLINE FOR PLAYERS TO ACCEPT OR REJECT QUALIFYING OFFER
Any player who received the one-year qualifying offer has a short amount of time to decide whether to accept it or reject it.
If a player accepts, he returns to his current team for the 2024 season.
If a player rejects and signs elsewhere, his former team receives draft pick compensation.
NOV. 17: NON-TENDER DEADLINE
Players on the 40-man roster who have fewer than six years of major league service time must be tendered a contract each offseason by the non-tender deadline. This includes players who are due raises via arbitration. If a club non-tenders a player, he immediately becomes a free agent.
DEC. 4-7: MLB WINTER MEETINGS
The Winter Meetings will take place Dec. 4-7 in Nashville.
After the GM Meetings in November get the framework started for offseason moves, a whole bunch of them usually go down at the Winter Meetings.
DEC. 5: MLB DRAFT LOTTERY
While the Mets finished with the eighth-worst winning percentage, they'll have the seventh-best odds in the lottery. That's because the Nationals, who finished with the fifth-worst winning percentage, are not eligible to receive a lottery pick this year.
Getting one of the top six picks is of extreme importance for New York, since it's only those six picks that are protected when it comes to luxury tax penalties. If the Mets get the seventh pick or lower, that selection will drop 10 spots because of the amount they exceeded the luxury tax by this season.
Even if the Mets finished with one of the six-worst winning percentages in MLB, they would not have been guaranteed a top-six pick, since those picks will be determined by the lottery.
The Mets' odds of landing a top-six pick are above 40 percent.
DEC. 7: RULE 5 DRAFT
The Rule 5 Draft takes place on the final day of the Winter Meetings, with certain minor leaguers who are not on the 40-man roster available. If a team selects a player, they must keep that player on their 26-man roster (or the IL) for the entire season or be forced to offer him back to the team he was selected from.
FEBRUARY: ARBITRATION FIGURES EXCHANGED
Once a player is offered arbitration, the team and that player's agent have a decent amount of time to come to terms on a new contract. If that doesn't happen, both sides submit salary proposals and the player's salary is determined by independent arbitrators during hearings.
MID-FEBRUARY: SPRING TRAINING BEGINS
Mets pitchers and catchers report in mid-February. Their first spring training game is Feb. 24 against the Cardinals.
Yankees pitchers and catchers report in mid-February. Their first spring training game is Feb. 24 against the Tigers.
