Top MLB Players Decline Qualifying Offers, Eye Lucrative Free Agent Contracts

Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, and others turn down $20.3M offers, with Ohtani not expected to pitch again until 2025 due to Tommy John surgery.

Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray and Matt Chapman have all declined $20,325,000 qualifying offers from their former teams, remaining on the free agent market to pursue more lucrative contracts.
Ohtani, who had his second Tommy John surgery in September, is not expected to pitch again until 2025.
Nola, Snell, Gray and Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto are among the top starting pitchers in the free agent class.
Blake Snell is expected to command a high salary in this free-agency cycle, despite concerns about his durability and high walk rate.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who had a 1.42 ERA in his last three seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, is expected to draw a high level of interest.